The Last Chance
by Arcus Pluvius
Summary: James befriends Kevin Starler, a mysterious boy with much to hide. After getting in trouble with the police the two boys find that they are not only have the cops on their tail, but psychopath Uncle Ron as well.
1. First Impressions

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters from the Cherub series.

Hello, this is my first fanfiction so I'm just seeing how it goes. I hope you all enjoy it!

**CHERUB**

**The Last Chance**

_by_

Arcus Pluvius

* * *

**Chapter One**

_First Impressions_

The sound of slot machines and the smell of cheap alcohol filled the air. James's frame was hunched over the bar, clasping a beer in his right and a cigarette in his left. Wiping the sweat off his brow James slipped off the stool, beer sloshing over his hand. A wave of dizziness passed over him as he stumbled forward, crashing into the neighbouring table. James cursed under his breath. Spying his jacket he bent down to scoop it up off the floor. Bashing his head on the wooden bar, he laughed to himself.

From the other side of the room a loud clatter erupted from the entrance of the casino. Five rowdy boys about the same age as James tumbled through the doors and into the masses of noisy people. James peered at them over his beer. They would be no match for him, if he could get them to play.

James plonked his beer down and sauntered over to the boys. The first to notice his approach was a tall thin boy with black hair which curved around his chin. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked as if he had not slept for weeks. The boy nudged his friend in the ribs and the four others fell silent.

'So…' James said rocking back and forth on his heels.

'So…' said the first boy, mimicking James slurred voice. The boy's friends laughed to themselves obviously finding their leader's joke extremely funny. James ignored the boy's cronies and continued.

'Any good at poker?' he asked, his eyebrow raised.

'Who's asking,' questioned the second boy stepping forward from the group. James smiled and stubbed out his cigarette in the ash tray on the table by his side.

'The name's Jake,' he lied. 'And you are…?'

'Bartholomew. And this is Rick,' he answered as he pointed to a stout boy on his right. 'And over here is Tom, this is Joey and this little chappy is Kevin.'

James gave Kevin the once over with a suspicious eye. Kevin looked distinctly uneasy around the rest of the boys. He had handsome features and thick blonde hair which he was subconsciously running his long fingers through. James threw him a sly grin and turned back to face Bartholomew.

'You haven't answered my question… Are you any good at poker?' He repeated the question slowly, as if talking to an infant.

Bartholomew's eyes narrowed and he turned to his friends who all nodded, encouraging him to take the offer of a game.

'Yeah, not bad. Why? Do you fancy a game? I should warn you… my boys and I are pretty good.'

'I think I'll take my chances,' replied James smoothly.

Bartholomew snapped his fingers. 'All right, boys. To the table.'

The four sidekicks scanned the room, finding an empty table tucked away in the far corner. The group stalked over and James slid into one of the chairs. Bartholomew followed suit, sitting opposite. James hunched his shoulders, placing his hands on the table and twiddling his thumbs. He could not help but feel slightly vulnerable as he glared up at the four boys that remained standing, surrounding their leader. He once again noticed that Kevin was standing back from the group. Kevin glanced down at his watch and scratched the back of his head.

'Guys, I think I'm going to call it a night,' he said sheepishly. 'Anyone comin'?'

'No, man. You're staying right here,' growled Bartholomew.

Kevin paled and stayed where he was.

'Let's get this started, shall we?' suggested James.

Bartholomew nodded. 'Rick, you're the dealer. Let's go.' He clicked his fingers and pointed at his friend.

The game began. At first Bartholomew was winning and became cocky, but that was all part of James's plan. A few minutes later Bartholomew was losing drastically but he would not give up. He was determined to win. James could see the look of panic over his face. He had planned it all. Bartholomew would at first be gaining money fast; giving him a false sense of security. Then bit by bit James would win the money back which would make Bartholomew more reckless.

'Come on dude, you're losing,' exclaimed Rick, 'Don't let this tosser beat you!'

'Shut up, I'm trying to think!' snapped Bartholomew.

James could see the look of contemplation on his face. He smirked behind his cards. He looked up to see Kevin biting his lip, but his mind seemed to be on something other than the game.

The game lasted about half an hour and by the end James had gained around two thousand pounds and was much chuffed. He quickly got up from the table. Bartholomew, looking dazed, slowly followed James with his eyes.

'I think it's time to love you and leave you, boys. Nice game,' James said slyly.

'Wait a second.' Bartholomew peered at James and got up from his chair. 'How did you do that?'

'Do what?' James asked.

'Beat us,' Bartholomew said. 'I was winning and then you skinned me alive!'

'Well maybe you aren't as good as you thought,' James teased.

'You little…' Bartholomew bellowed as he dived towards James. James backed out of the way, leaving Bartholomew to fall on his knees. James laughed hard, clutching his stomach. Bartholomew's face turned red and he quickly got to his feet. His friends surrounded him like a shield. 'You better shut your mouth you little prick, or else!'

'Or else what? You'll hit me. Very original,' James replied. He had heard this line so many times that it did not bother him in the slightest.

Bartholomew charged towards James, his friends in tow. A fist hit James square in the jaw and another in his torso. He stood his ground and took the punches which were constant but they had no power behind them.

Eventually the punches stopped and the tired, sweaty boys stood back to admire their work. What they did not expect to see though was their victim to be unscathed. James grinned at them and a second later Bartholomew was on the floor, grasping his bloody nose.

Rick bent down to his friend and tried to help him up. Bartholomew rejected his help and sat up, cursing James aloud.

James looked around at Bartholomew's pals and gave them a questioning glare. The four boys slowly backed away from him. James resisted the temptation to knock them all out when he heard the sound of police sirens.

Bartholomew got up stiffly and turned to his boys.

'Let's get out of here. Now!' he demanded. He led the way to the door, followed by Rick, Tom and Joey. Within moments they were gone. James and Kevin stood in silence for a while.

'I should really go…….sorry about my friends.' He turned to leave but James grabbed his arm.

'No you come with me.' He dragged Kevin to the men's toilets and looked in the cracked mirror.

'You took quite a few punches,' Kevin noted.

'Hmmmm,' James agreed, 'don't I know it.' He rubbed his swollen jaw and laughed. 'At least I made a profit,' he said, patting his full pocket. James looked at Kevin who was eyeing the pocket in which he had just indicated. 'Here.' James pulled a twenty pound note out of his pocket and handed it to Kevin. 'Buy me a drink.'

They waited until the police sirens had passed and then made their way back to the bar. There were not many people left in the casino now. It was after midnight and most of the people had either got so drunk their friends had taken them home or they had got fed up of losing their money to a stupid slot machine.

James slid onto one of the stools and pounded his fist on the bar.

'Beer!' he called slapping a ten pound note down in front of him. 'You want one right?' he asked Kevin who was still standing about a metre away from him.

'Um…no thanks, I'm good.' Kevin replied quickly. 'I should really go now.'

'No!' James reached out to Kevin and pulled him towards him. He could see that Kevin's face had dropped and he was expecting a blow. James let go of his arm and brushed the creases out of Kevin's jacket. 'Come…please sit.'

Kevin hoisted himself onto one of the high stools and looked at James.

'What?' James asked in a slightly irritated tone.

Kevin quickly looked away and ran his hands along his jeans. James felt bad.

'So…' he said. 'It's Kevin right'.

'Right,' Kevin said slowly. 'And you're Jake.'

'Ha! You wish. No, I'm James, James Adams.' James thrust his hand towards Kevin. Kevin took it gingerly and shook it. Kevin held on to his hand for a moment too long, causing awkwardness between them.

'Ahem…um right.' James pretended to cough, tugged his hand back and continued to drink his beer. 'Tell me about yourself Kevin…Kevin…?' James tailed off.

'Oh Starler, Kevin Starler.'

'OK then Kevin Starler. What's your story?' James asked. Kevin looked down again and did not answer. Amused by Kevin's unwilling behaviour James said, 'OK. Well why don't I start? I'm James Adams, like I said, and I'm seventeen years old. How about you?'

'What?' Kevin asked, startled. James raised his eyebrows and shook his head, laughing.

'You don't talk much do you? Well…' he looked at Kevin again. 'Well, come on, get on with it.'

James pounded his fist on the table again and ordered another beer.

'I'm seventeen years old and I live near by.' Kevin replied.

'Great! Where about?'

'About five minutes away down Belsize Road. I live with my mum…….' Kevin tailed off. He looked upset so James took over.

'I don't really live anywhere in particular, but…well, I…I…left school at sixteen, brought a Harley Davison and spend most of my time beating losers like your friend Bartholomew at poker.' He stopped and stared at his drink.

James had had to lie to many people about who he was when he was at Cherub but now that he had left it annoyed him that he had to keep it all a secret. What annoyed him more was that what he had told Kevin was basically the truth. His life was all about gambling these days. James had wanted to go to college but he had never done anything about it.

'Don't you live with your parents?'

James was surprised that Kevin had uttered a word without being asked and turned to him. Kevin seemed naturally interested in what James had to say so he answered.

'No, they're dead.' James glanced at Kevin who looked embarrassed for asking. James laughed. 'It don't matter much. I can't remember Dad and my Mum, well, I think I'd rather forget, so……never mind.'

Kevin rubbed his neck and said, 'Well, my Dad walked out on my mum, and I when I told them that I …' He stopped again and quickly changed the subject. 'Where have you come from?'

'Here and there, you know?'

'OK so if you don't live anywhere, where are going to stay tonight?' Kevin questioned James, eyeing the bottle of beer in his hand. Before he realised what he was doing he said, 'You should really stop drinking so much.'

'What? How is it any of your business how much I drink' James hiccupped as he got another beer.

A few beers later and after some random rambling from James, the two boys left the casino. Kevin had had to drag James off his stool and outside because he was so intoxicated he could hardly stand.

'Well that was fun!' James spluttered, laughing insanely to himself. 'Hi Kevin, nice to see you.' James looked up at Kevin and waved to him.

Kevin sighed and tried to heave James's arm back over his shoulder when James collapsed on the ground.

'Oh man!' Kevin exclaimed. 'What the hell do I do now?' The question rang out into the cold night air. The only thing Kevin could hear was the sound of cars on the road. He stared down at James and cursed.

Kevin decided that he could not just leave a drunken James on the ground so he pulled him up under his arms and began to drag him home.

'Oh God, this is so lame. Why me?'

* * *

James awoke to the sound of shouting. His head throbbed painfully as he tried to sit up. He yawned, clasping his aching jaw as pain exploded down his face. The shouting continued. He could not make out who it was that was shouting but he did not really care. He just wondered where he was.

He was lying on an old sofa in a small messy room full of CD's and magazines. He picked up a CD and examined it. The Rolling Stones. Good choice. A minute later a tall figure entered the room. James quickly put down the CD and sat up, moaning as he did.

'Morning' said the figure. The boy was dressed T-shirt and jeans and he was holding a chipped coffee cup. 'Want something to eat? Coffee?' He gestured the cup but James shook his head.

'Where am I and who are you?' James was confused and slightly concerned about this perfect stranger.

The boy laughed and sat down on the arm of the sofa, sipping his coffee.

'Your hero,' he joked. 'We met at the casino last night and got talking. But, when you passed out, I had no choice but to drag your sorry ass back to my place!' He smiled at James's look of confusion and said, 'I'm Kevin, remember.'

'Oh yeah,' James racked his brain for more information which he had somehow lost due to drinking. 'Kevin Starler, right?'

'Right.' Kevin grinned.

'Yes I remember, I beat your dumb ass friend at poker and he didn't exactly take it well did he?...No…well…' James tailed off and patted his lower torso where a large bruise had formed. 'Ha!' James laughed. 'Look at that! They left their mark alright.'

James suddenly remembered something. 'Who was shouting?'

'Oh umm…' Kevin looked embarrassed. 'It was nothing... just my Mum and I…we had a disagreement.'

James looked up at Kevin who was watching him carefully.

James felt uneasy and said, 'Well, you're more talkative now, aren't you? It must be those so called friends of yours. The cowards!'

Kevin put his coffee down on the table in front of the sofa.

'Do you want to borrow some clean clothes, because yours are all covered with beer.'

James examined his shirt and wiped it.

'Um, yeah, I guess. Thanks.' He peered at Kevin who was watching him from the doorway.

'OK, back in a sec.' He disappeared from view and James slumped back down into the hard sofa.

An hour later James had showered and got dressed in some of Kevin's tracksuit bottoms and a clean white T-shirt while Kevin had got him some breakfast of toast and a cup of tea.

'We need to get as much water in you as possible and get you hydrated,' Kevin told James as he searched for the butter in his mess of a fridge.

James laughed. 'Why do you care? You don't even know who I am.'

'Yes, but I can't let you leave without being fed.' Kevin replied cheerfully.

James sipped his tea as he spotted a motor bike magazine on the breakfast table.

'I love motor bikes! I have a Harley Davison, you know,' he said, mainly to himself as a reassurance that he at least had that to call his own. He suddenly remembered, however, that he had left his Harley Davison at the casino the night before. He quickly rose from the table, knocking over his half full cup of tea. 'I need to go back!'

Kevin was completely unaware of James's distress and continued buttering his toast. 'Go back where?' he asked, not really interested in what James was talking about.

'The casino!' James exclaimed.

'What? Why do you want to go back there?'

'My bike, my bike,' James told him. 'I left it there last night. I have to go back and get it.'

'OK, fine. But eat your toast first,' Kevin said, slipping a plate with two pieces of toast on it in front of him.

'No, I need to go back now or…..'

'James sit down and eat your toast!' Kevin shouted so loudly that James fell silent and did as he was told. 'Look I'm sorry,' Kevin continued, 'but you don't need to go right now. It will still be there after you have had your breakfast. OK?'

James looked up at Kevin and nodded. Kevin was a lot different than he was last night and James could not tell if he could trust him or not.

After they had eaten they walked back to the casino together to retrieve James's bike. When they got there they found that the bike had been keyed along one side and the words 'Ass Hole' had been etched onto the left mudguard.

'What the hell!' James pounded the air with his fists, 'Who did this. Oh it was that little friend of yours, wasn't it?' He turned to Kevin who just shrugged. 'It's gonna cost at least three hundred pounds to get this repainted! Urght!'

Kevin chuckled as James pulled at his blonde hair, cursing Bartholomew loudly. James spun around to glare at Kevin.

'You think this is funny? What the hell? This is crap!'

'Oh, well, maybe next time this will make you think twice about getting completely hammered!'

James glowered at him. 'Shut up,' he said. He leaned against his bike and looked at Kevin and asked, 'Now what?'

Kevin shrugged. 'Coffee?'

* * *

I hope you like the chapter. There will more soon. Please R&R to let me know what you think!

Arcus Pluvius


	2. A Change in Direction

Thanks for all your reviews, especially to the anonymous reviewer - your comments meant a lot!

Here's Chapter Two. I hope you enjoy it :)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Two**

_A Change Of Direction_

Kevin's eyes snapped open as the doorbell rang long and hard. It was one of those really annoying people who did not just press the bell once, but kept their finger firmly pressed down on the buzzer. Kevin groaned and shoved his pillow over his head. The loud bell continued to ring so he rolled out of his bed, grabbed a T-shirt and pulled it on.

He drifted slowly down the stairs. Kevin had hoped that James would answer the door but as he had gone passed James's room he had seen that he was fast asleep, his head at the wrong end of the bed.

After James had moved in a month before the boys had quickly become good friends. They were still staying with Kevin's Mum, but they never saw much of her. Kevin did not talk about her much so James did not ask. He got the strong impression that she was going off to get pissed every night, leaving Kevin to look after himself. This seemed to suit Kevin fine, but James could see that his friend was worried for his Mother's health.

'Alright!' Kevin called, 'I'm comin, calm down!' He reached the front door and fumbled around with the keys until he found the correct one. The doorbell finally stopped when Kevin yanked open the door.

Kevin groaned and covered his eyes with his hand. It was sunny outside and Kevin's eyes had not got used to the bright light. He could just make out two girls standing with their hands on their hips.

'What do you want?' Kevin asked rudely.

'We want to see James. We found out that he is living here. Is that right?' asked one girl bluntly. She was thin with long black hair in a pony tail. The other girl stood by her side. She had blond hair which hung dead straight down her pink cheeks.

The girls looked at Kevin who stood in silence, only just taking in their demands.

'Um…OK. Who are you and what do you want to see James for?' Kevin decided to take on their blunt tone as well which made the girls sigh impatiently.

'This is none of your business, dude, so let us speak to James!' replied the blond girl. She glared at Kevin with distaste.

'Well, I think that it is my business because this is my house so…' Kevin stared at them questioningly and waited for them to reply.

The two girls exchanged glances.

'OK, sorry. Can we please talk to James?' asked the first girl, who was obviously forcing herself to be polite.

Kevin smirked at them and turned around to call up the stairs to James.

'Hey, James get up! There are two girls to see you.' Kevin turned back to the girls and faked a smile. They smiled back, then rolled their eyes.

'Can we come in please?' asked the second girl. She looked at Kevin as if he were an idiot.

'Yeah, sure,' Kevin said slowly, not quite sure if he was doing the right thing letting two random girls into his home.

James did not immerge from his room. Kevin called again, but in the end he had to march up the stairs and pull James out of bed.

'There are two girls down there to see you, so get up!' Kevin whispered as James looked for a shirt and some trousers to wear.

Kevin made his way back down to the living room which was still a mess. The two girls were sitting on the sofa talking quietly to each other. They both glanced up when Kevin entered the room.

'He will be down in a second,' Kevin said as he quickly did some minor tidying up. The room looked like a bomb had just hit it and Kevin was feeling slightly uncomfortable at having two perfect strangers sitting in the middle of his junk.

Meanwhile, James had put on some clean clothes and brushed his teeth. He wasn't sure who these girls were, but nevertheless he wanted to look good, just in case.

James trudged down the stairs and entered the living room. When he saw who was waiting to see him, he stopped.

'Oh,' he said 'It's you.'

'Yes, it's us,' said the blond girl as she stood up. 'James, what have you done to yourself?'

James said nothing. He knew that he looked like a mess. His face was still bruised from a fight he and Kevin had gotten into the week before.

The black haired girl stood up and walked over to James, who was still hovering in the doorway.

'Your face looks horrible!' she said, examining James's left eye.

'Thank you very much, Kerry. Now, what are you doing here?.' James grumbled.

'We wanted to see how you were,' said the blonde girl. She, too, walked over to James and studied him.

'It's a good thing we did, hey? I mean, look at you and look at where you're staying. It's a pig sty.' Kerry looked around her then back to James. 'Maybe you should come back to Cherub with Lauren and me?'

'No, I will not go back!' James replied. 'I don't want to go back and I won't go back so that's the end of it!' He dismissed the suggestion so quickly that neither Kerry nor Lauren had a chance to try and reason with him. His mind was set.

Kevin was confused and had no idea who these people were.

'What's Cherub?' he asked. Kerry, Lauren and James all fell silent. Kerry had not meant to mention Cherub, but it had somehow slipped out. She gave a desperate look at James who turned to Kevin.

'It's this youth club that I used to go to. Kerry, and my sister Lauren,' he indicated Lauren with his hand, who quickly smiled at Kevin, 'still go but when I left it meant that I didn't want to go back.' James said this last part to Kerry mostly. Kerry sighed and looked away.

Kevin did not quite believe this story about a youth club but he accepted it nonetheless.

'Would any of you like a cup of tea?' Kevin asked. It was the only thing he could think of saying.

'Um…yes please. No sugar ple….' Kerry was cut off by James.

'No, you are not staying!' he demanded. Kerry and Lauren looked surprised.

'Why not?' Lauren asked angrily. 'We came here to see how you were!'

'Yeah, you have so…'

'Yeah, we have and now we need to help you.' Lauren looked up at her older brother with sad eyes. 'James, you have ruined your life. Come back with us.' She took hold of James's arm and was gently tugging on it.

James shoved her away.

'NO!' he shouted. 'Get out now!'

Kerry and Lauren looked at each other, and then made their way to the door. They were soon gone but before they left Lauren gave her brother a quick hug. James did not return the hug but a twinge of guilt passed through him.

When they had gone, James sat on the sofa and starred at the wall. Kevin was still standing by the coffee table, not quite sure what had just happened.

James peered at Kevin and he could see the confusion over his face.

'They wanted me to go back with them. Ha! That will never happen.' James said.

Kevin walked over to the window. He could still see the two girls strolling down the street.

'Don't even think about it,' James sniggered.

'Think about what?' Kevin asked without turning around.

'Them. Kerry would never go out with piece of trash like you,' James laughed at his joke, 'and Lauren, well, she already has a boyfriend so, no hope there.'

'What are you talking about? I'm not interested in your sister or Kerry.' Kevin answered truthfully.

'Yeah, whatever. You just think that.' James went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Kevin followed, still protesting.

'I do not fancy them! Believe me!' Kevin exclaimed as he slumped into one of the chairs.

'And why should I do that?' James laughed.

'Because…' Kevin looked down at his hands. James noticed his awkwardness.

'What?' he said 'What is it?'

Kevin looked up at James again.

'Because I'm gay.' Kevin stared at the table. James had no idea what to say. He put his cup of tea down and turned away to face the wall.

'OK, that's cool,' he said still not looking at Kevin.

'Oh really, is that why you can't even look at me?' Kevin's voice was now angry.

James spun around, leaned towards Kevin and stared into his eyes. Kevin laughed.

'OK fine. So you're really OK with this?'

'Of course I am. I have no problem with you being gay.'

'OK good.' Kevin said as he stirred the coffee James had made for him.

'But umm…' James paused and looked up, 'I'm not, gay.' James looked embarrassed.

'Dude, I think I got that!' Kevin smiled at James.

They both laughed for a moment but then the room was silent again.

James thought back to when he found out that his best friend Kyle Blueman, from Cherub was gay. At first it was a bit weird but it did not change the fact that they were best friends and had loads in common.

'You know, my best friend is gay,' James said as he shoved a piece of toast into his mouth.

'Oh really, and who is this so called best friend?' Kevin asked with an unconvinced tone.

'His name is Kyle Blueman. He lives in London.' James replied.

'Why didn't you go stay with him then?'

'It would feel weird.' James looked uncomfortable. 'The last time I saw Kyle, I… well I wasn't like this.'

'What, a loser living in a dump?' Kevin had meant this to be a joke but it came out wrong.

James jumped up from the table.

'Oh, so I'm a loser, am I?' James looked furious.

'No, I didn't mean that. It was a joke!' Kevin exclaimed, waving his hands up and down. 'Dude, you seriously need to chill!'

If anyone else had said that James would have punched them so hard their face would be permanently damaged. Kevin, however, was his friend and James would never hurt him.

James sat back down and drank his tea. Kevin looked up again.

'So, you're really OK with me, you know, being gay?'

'Yes,' James said with a laugh. He finished his tea and got up from the table. He put his mug in the sink and headed for the door. 'As long as you don't try anything funny with me.' He laughed again as he left the room.

Kevin watched him leave and sighed.

'Yeah, sure. Nothing funny.'

* * *

As James stood, staring at the numbers on the screen, Kevin leant against the wall

impatiently. James was sure that the numbers must have been wrong. There was no way he had spent that much money in the last three months. He turned to his friend.

'What the hell? This has to be wrong,' he cried. He turned back to look at his bank account details on the screen and groaned.

'I'm not so sure,' Kevin said scratching his neck. 'You did use a lot last week, at the casino.'

'Yeah, but not that much! This must be wrong.' James collected his money from the machine and shoved his card into his jacket pocket. The two boys strolled into a café round the corner and plonked themselves down at the far table.

After they had ordered their coffee they got back to the subject of James's money.

'You just need to be more careful with your money and stop gambling,' Kevin told James, who was strumming his fingers on the table.

'I know, but it's a bit harder than that.' James sighed and buried his head in his hands in despair.

Kevin watched James intently. He watched how he ruffled his hair and rubbed his brow with his thumb and forefinger. Kevin realised that he had become very fond of his friend and this upset him. He knew that James did not feel the same way and now that James knew he was gay, it was sometimes quite awkward between them.

James sat up straight and looked at Kevin. He smiled.

'What?' Kevin asked. He had suddenly got a funny feeling in his chest when James smiled at him.

'You.' James replied.

'What do you mean?' Kevin's heart was beating faster and he could hardly speak. 'What about me?'

'Could you, possible lend me some cash?' Kevin's heart sank. James continued with a big cheesy smile on his face. 'If you leant me some money, I promise to pay you back. I'll win all the money back tonight, I swear.'

Kevin was unsure. James had clasped his hands together and started begging.

'Fine, here.' Kevin pulled out a wodge of money from his wallet. James took it and thanked him.

'Right, I'll go now, but I will see you later at the house, with a lot more money!' James rubbed his fingers together at this last bit. Kevin grinned at him, but it was fake. James bounced out of the café and disappeared.

Kevin knew that James would lose all the money and never pay him back. He gave the money to him because it made James happy. If only for a short while.

When Kevin got home the house was empty. James was still out getting wasted and gambling away all of Kevin's money.

Kevin dumped his shoulder bag on the table and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

No messages.

He had hoped that his Mum had tried to call him. He had not seen her for over a week and he was starting to get worried. He scrolled down his contact list until he came across his Mum's number. Kevin thought about giving her a ring, but decided to leave it. If she needed his help she would call. At least he hoped she would.

He slid his phone shut and put it on the table. He glanced at his watch and sighed. It was only eight o'clock. James would not be back for at least another four hours.

Kevin strolled into the living room and picked up a copy of 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck. He had always liked to read and he had wanted to become a writer since he was very young. Kevin had never forgotten about the dream to go to college and become a professional writer. Trouble was he never liked what he wrote. He would either rip it up or shove it in the bottom of his draw so no one would ever find it.

When Kevin next looked at the clock it was half twelve. He had been reading for four and a half hours. James was still not back, so he made his way to bed. He could not sleep however, for he was thinking about James and his Mum. Kevin really cared about both of them and he was very concerned about how much they were drinking.

Kevin stared at his ceiling. He could still see the star shaped marks left from the glow in the dark star stickers he had put up when he was eight. He had gotten them for his birthday. That was when his Dad was still living with them. They were all so happy. However, after his Mum had gotten into drinking, when Kevin was fourteen, everything changed.

Kevin's Dad had remarried and was living in America. He had had a new baby girl but Kevin had never met her. Kevin's father probably never told his new family about him. His father was embarrassed because his son was gay. That was the main reason his father had left. Kevin had always blamed himself for his father leaving and he was starting to believe that his Mum did to.

As Kevin had guessed, James came home completely drunk with no money left. He had had to drag James up the stairs and shove him into his bed. James was asleep within seconds and he snored loudly. Kevin had then gone back to bed hoping that one day his life would get better, and he could maybe do something about becoming a writer.

* * *

The next morning when James entered the kitchen he was surprised to see Kevin crying at the table.

'Wow, dude, what's wrong?' he asked.

Kevin looked up. His eyes were red and tear stained. He was shaking and James could tell that something extremely bad had happened.

James sat down in the chair opposite Kevin and waited in silence. He knew that Kevin would tell him, he just had to wait until he was ready.

'Um… It's… m..my…Mum!' Kevin stuttered. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. 'She…she's dead.' Kevin burst into tears again and slammed his head down onto his folded arms.

James was startled by this but he knew what to do. He had lost both parents so he knew how Kevin felt. He got out of his chair and walked round the table to Kevin. He placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin froze. He slowly looked up at James's face.

'It's OK, I know how you feel. I've been there too, remember.' James tried to say this with a bit of a laugh but he could barely manage a smile. He decided the best thing to do was to let Kevin cry. James remembered when his Mum died, how all he wanted to do was cry. At first he tried to resist it but then he just let the tears come. He also remembered how much better it made him feel.

James and Kevin sat in silence for a long time. Kevin had stopped crying but he was still in shock.

'Do you want to talk about what happened?' James asked.

Kevin sighed and breathed slowly. 'I guess so.'

'OK good,' James said. 'When did it happen?'

'Last night. I got a call from the hospital at about seven this morning.' Kevin rubbed his face. He was exhausted. He had been sitting at the breakfast table since he had gotten the call. 'They said that she had been drinking at a bar when she passed out. She was rushed to hospital but there was nothing they could do. They told me that they think she died of an overdose.'

James was taken aback. 'I didn't know that she was doing drugs.'

'Neither did I,' admitted Kevin. He stared at his hands. 'I called her solicitor and asked him to send a copy of her will. It should be here tomorrow.'

James nodded slowly. He wondered how much money Kevin's Mum had left him but he decided not to bring it up. It was not the right thing to say at a time like this.

For the rest of the day the two boys stayed in the house and talked. They talked about what they had always wanted to do, since they were young and Kevin admitted that he wanted to go to college one day.

James told Kevin about how, when he was growing up, he had always wanted a Harley Davison and to become a master gambler, but now that he had done that, he had nothing left in his life. He had lost his money due to careless gambling and he had no idea how to make his life better.

The next day James was woken by the sound of something being shoved through the letter box. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He slipped into some clothes and peered into Kevin's room. Kevin was sitting up in his bed. He glanced at James and smiled sadly.

'I'll go get the post.' James said. He turned to make his way down the stairs.

'No!' Kevin called to him. He jumped out of bed and raced after James.

James had already got to the post when Kevin reached the bottom of the stairs.

'Give me that!' Kevin said as he tried to snatch the post away from James.

'What? Why?' James asked. He couldn't understand why Kevin was acting so strange.

'Just give it to me. It's mine, so hand it over!' Kevin reached for the post but James lifted it above his head and pushed Kevin away.

James laughed, not realising that Kevin was being serious. He held the envelope out in front of him and looked at it.

'What? Why do you not want me to see it….Oh?' James stopped and looked more carefully. He peered at the name on the front. 'What's this?'

James was expecting to see Kevin's name on the envelope, but instead it read, 'Keffi Starler'.

'Who's this then?' James asked, his eyes wide.

Kevin snatched the envelope away from James and quickly opened it.

James burst into laughter. 'Keffi? Your real name is Keffi? Ha! That's hilarious!'

Kevin gave James a dirty glare and stalked to the living room. James followed, finally understanding why he did not want him to see the envelope.

Kevin sat down and began to read his post.

'I'm guessing that's the will from the solicitor?' James asked hoping to get an answer. Kevin ignored him and continued to read.

When Kevin finished reading he put the will down on the coffee table and stared at it in silence. James moved over to him and sat down.

'You OK?' he asked.

'What do you think?' Kevin hissed as he jumped up. 'My Mum just died and all you can do is laugh at me.' Kevin was hurting and James could see it.

'I'm sorry I laughed. It was inappropriate,' he said, rubbing his hands together.

'You got that right!' Kevin paced up and down the room. His face was pale and he had bags under his eyes. James could tell that he had not slept that night, which was understandable. Kevin stopped with his back to James. He slowly turned around and went to go sit back down on the sofa. He looked up at James. 'Sorry for being an ass,' he said quietly.

'Why are you sorry?' James was confused. 'I'm the one who was being an ass. I should be sorry.'

Kevin smiled at James then looked away again. 'She left me everything,' he said, still looking away from James. 'Every last penny.' Kevin turned to James and smiled. 'I guess she really did love me.'

James patted Kevin on the back and grinned. 'So…Keffi? That's an interesting name.'

Kevin punched James in the shoulder and the two boys laughed.

* * *

Hope you liked it. Please leave a review :)

Arcus Pluvius


	3. Moving On

Hi guys! Thanks very much for the reviews! They were lovely! Sorry to keep you waiting!

* * *

**Chapter Three**

_Moving On_

As the wind and rain whipped across his face, Kevin replayed the last few years of his life in his head. He could see all the happiness and joy crumbling away in front of him. All that was left was loneliness. He could see his mother's face. She was young and happy. She was smiling at him. Kevin felt her warmth and kindness through that smile. In his head, she reached out to him, but as she came closer, she changed. Her smile faded, her cheeks fell in and her skin paled. He now saw her how she had been just before she died. Sad and lonely, just like Kevin was now.

Kevin could feel the tears in his eyes. They wanted to burst out but he stopped them. He told himself not to cry. He was done crying, done feeling sorry for himself. He needed to move on. But it was hard. Kevin thought back to how it was before. When his father was around Kevin and his Mum had never been happier. The three of them would go on trips together, they were the perfect family. Back then, none of them could have seen it coming. They were all happy to be with one another and now Kevin was all alone.

Kevin looked out on the beach in front of him. He could see himself standing there, his mother at his side. She placed a hand on his shoulder and winked at him. Then another figure emerged behind them. It was Kevin's father. He smiled and slipped a hand into his wife's. They all grinned from ear to ear, laughing and hugging.

Suddenly a large gust of wind came and swept the perfect image away, leaving an empty canvas. That's how he felt. He felt like an empty canvas. Everything he had ever had was taken away. Kevin had been stripped of anything that meant something to him. There was nothing left of his life. He had lost everything.

The rain got stronger and the wind picked up speed, but Kevin did not mind. He liked the cold. He breathed in and out slowly, feeling all the fresh air rushing through him. It was calming. There was no one around. They had all gone home when the storm had started. Kevin just leant against the metal barrier and watched the sea. The white horses jumping over the waves then galloping towards him. Then they crashed down onto the sand. Kevin then imagined being in a room, all the walls coming closer, closing in on him. This was how it was. Kevin had felt trapped for a while. Trapped by pain, anger and self doubt. He wanted to break free, but the walls kept getting closer. One day soon, the roof would fall down on him. Like the waves on the beach. Crashing down, smothering all in sight.

Kevin stopped breathing for a second and imagined what it would be like to drown. Not being able to breath. Your body running out of oxygen as you battle to get that precious gasp of air. He took a deep breath and sighed. He thought about dying and wondered if drowning was a painful way to go. Kevin stared at the water. It looked so nice. Cool and relaxing. He could smell the salt as the waves crashed on the beach, spraying him. It was beckoning him, asking him to come closer. Kevin stepped forward, bumping into the barrier. He looked down, his eyes wide. Stepping back, he turned and headed for the small steps which led to the beach. He walked slowly, staring out to sea. He lifted his arm and reached for it. It called to him again, begging him to reach further. Kevin tried but stopped when he heard his mother voice.

'Mum?' Kevin was confused and looked around. There was no one there. The voice spoke again. His Mum told him to stop and go back. 'Why? It looks so nice.' Kevin asked his mother. The water looked so promising to him, he wanted to touch it.

Kevin was just at the edge of the water. He stared down at it and frowned. It didn't look so nice anymore. It was a horrible dark black and it was rough. It was strangely intimidating. Kevin backed away from it as he heard his mother's voice in his head again. She told him to go back home, where it was safe.

Kevin was about to speak to her when he heard a buzz. He listened hard. He heard it again.

'What was that, Mum?' he asked. 'Where is it coming from?' But she did not answer. His mother had gone.

Kevin shook his head and shoved his hand in his pocket. He pulled out his phone. James's name was plastered across the screen. James had been trying to call Kevin all day but Kevin had just ignored it. He had not wanted to speak to anyone but he figured that James was probably worried about him by now.

That morning Kevin had gotten up and instead of eating breakfast, he got into his car and drove off. James had asked him if he wanted any company before he left, but Kevin declined his offer. He said that he needed to be alone.

Kevin lifted the phone to his ear.

'Hello?'

'Kevin!' James exclaimed. 'Where the hell are you?'

'Bournemouth' Kevin replied. He looked at his watch. It was almost five in the afternoon. 'I'll be back in about and hour and a half.'

'Fine. Are you OK now?' James asked.

'Define 'OK'.' Kevin sighed, looking out to sea.

'Hmmm, well, don't be too long, man. I…I need to talk to you.'

James sounded pretty serious so Kevin agreed and left the beach. He found his car and set off.

Just over two hours later Kevin was greeted by James who grabbed his arm and dragged him into the living room.

'What?' Kevin was completely baffled. 'What is going on?'

'Like I said, we need to talk.' James pushed Kevin down onto the sofa and began. 'You know how we were talking about how we really needed money and quick?'

'Yeah…we decided to get jobs.' Kevin stared at James and was beginning to get suspicious.

'Well yes…' James tilted his head to the side and frowned. 'But I have thought of something much better. It will guarantee us a fortune, but we have to do it right.'

'What?' Kevin was lost. 'What are you talking about?'

'Car jacking.' James smiled at Kevin. Kevin's eyes widened with shock.

'What the hell are you thinking of? You want us to go and…and rob a load of cars?' Kevin stood up and grabbed James by the shoulders. 'You're nuts! Absolutely nuts! There is no way we are doing that!'

James's smile did not leave his face. In fact it had got bigger. He had planned something already and Kevin could do nothing about it.

* * *

'Wait. So you want me to sell my Mum's house and move to Manchester, with you?'

'Yep. Exactly.' James had planned everything out. He and Kevin would sell the house, and move to Manchester. There they would buy a flat and start their car jacking. 'It's simple. We move to a place where no one knows us and within a few months we become millionaires!'

'Simple to you maybe, but you can't ask me to sell my Mum's house!' Kevin was getting frustrated with James's crazy ideas. He never thought anything through properly and in the end his plans always fell apart.

'Why not? She's dead!' James realised too late that what he had just said was the worst thing imaginable. Kevin was finding his mothers death extremely hard and all James seemed to do was make it worse.

'Thanks for that.' Kevin lowered himself onto the sofa. James did the same. He waited in silence until Kevin spoke again. 'We don't know anything about car jacking James and, well…' Kevin laughed. 'Where the hell did this insane idea come from?'

'Aha!' James slapped his hand down on his knees and got up. 'I was flicking through my contacts on my phone, when I came across my sister's number. Her father, Ron, just got out of prison recently and he knew a guy. This guy happens to be ace at car jacking and he's a friend of mine. When I left Cheru…' James stopped and remembered the mistake of mentioning Cherub before, 'the youth club, he found out where I was and he told me that if I ever needed help, he would be there for me and my sister.'

'Right. So he was friends with your, stepdad?'

'No!' James corrected him instantly. 'They hated each other, and don't call him my stepdad.' Kevin looked confused. 'Look, he did some really awful things and so I don't think of him as part of my family.' Kevin's face was still blank. 'It's a long story. Anyway, they were not friends. This guy, Richard Mungo is his name, helped Ron sell drugs a few years back and in the end it all turned nasty. The cops got involved but Richard got away. All the blame was put on Ron who had basically started it in the first place. Ron tried to get Mungo caught too but it all backfired. The police found no evidence to show that he had had anything to do with it.'

'OK.' Kevin was starting to understand. 'So now Ron hates this Mungo guy?' James nodded. 'So why would he want to help you?'

'Richard knows that the thing which would annoy Ron more than anything would be if he helped me. Ron hates my guts. He would do anything to hurt me or anyone I care about. That's why Richard Mungo would help us.' James stood back with his arms folded, looking as if he had just given an award winning speech.

'So because of this dude, you want to become a criminal?' Kevin shook his head, 'how does that make any sense to you?'

James sighed. He knew that it would be difficult to get Kevin to agree to his plan, but he was determined to make it work.

* * *

'Is that it?' James asked as he took the box of Kevin's things and plonked it onto the back seat of the car.

'Yep, that's it. There's nothing left.'

Kevin stared at his mother's house and smiled. It felt good to be leaving. At first, when James had brought it up, Kevin had thought that moving was a stupid thing to do. Now he realised that he had to move. He had to leave his old family home, to forget. For the last month, Kevin kept trying to push all that had happened to him in the last three years of his life into the back of his mind, but it kept sneaking its way back again. That was when he realised that it was the house which was the problem. Everywhere he looked he could see parts of his life which he had lost. Parts he wished he could have back, but they were gone and he knew it. It was time to move on. Time to say goodbye to the past.

'Are you sure you want to do this.' James put a hand on Kevin's shoulder. 'If you're not sure, you should tell me.'

'What? For the last month, all you have done is beg me to sell the house and move, now you sound like you are the one who doesn't want to leave.' Kevin laughed. James was starting to sound like a caring parent or something. James began to laugh as well.

He patted Kevin on the back and wondered over to his Harley Davison. James was going to ride it all the way to Manchester and meet Kevin at their new flat. Kevin was taking the car with all their things in the back. Kevin was excited to be moving. He had lived in the same place all his life; it would be good to have a big change like this.

'How long do you think it will take you to get to Manchester on that thing?' Kevin folded his arms and raised his eyebrow at James bike.

'I don't know, but I bet I can beat you there.' James was sitting on his Harley, stroking its side. He pointed at Kevin's car. 'I could beat that old thing any day.'

'Oh…' Kevin said, leaning against his red Renault Laguna. 'Do I smell a bet coming on?'

'If you want. Loser has to…' James bit his lip, thinking to himself.

'Unpack the car?' Kevin thought aloud.

'OK, but I should warn you, we're staying on the top floor.' James laughed as he started his Harley and set off. He was gone in a flash. Kevin grinned and sped to get into his car. As he pulled out of the driveway he looked back. He smiled again. He was not sad to be leaving. That part of his life was over and a new part had just begun.

* * *

The drive was long. Kevin got lost at least five times. Once he had to turn around and drive ten miles in the wrong direction so he could get onto the right road. When he finally arrived at the flat, four hours later, he was surprised to find that he had beaten James there. Kevin sat on the bonnet of his car and waited.

It was an extremely long time before James turned up. However, he did not drive up on his bike. He wondered out of the front door of the block of flats holding a bottle of beer. He leant against the wall and smiled.

'I see you made it at last,' he said, trying not to laugh.

'What the hell? How did you…but I was here and…' Kevin stopped and just stood there gaping at him.

James ginned widely. 'Come on, let's get you inside.'

An hour later, James and Kevin were sitting on the couch watching TV. The furniture in the flat was quite old but still good. They had had some of Kevin's furniture from his old house brought by mover lorries, but some furniture had been left by the last owners.

'So now what?' Kevin looked at James whose eyes were glued to the TV.

'Oh…I don't know. Ask me tomorrow when I have had some sleep.' James flopped down onto the arm rest and closed his eyes.

'Ok then. I'm going to bed.' Kevin rose from the couch and went to his bedroom and slipped into bed. He didn't bother to get changed, he was too tired. It was a bit odd not sleeping in his old bed but Kevin didn't really care. Change was good.

The next morning, James found himself lying on the floor. He sat up and rubbed his head. He realised that he must have slipped off the couch in his sleep. When he looked up, he saw Kevin in the kitchen making breakfast. James got up and slowly made his way towards him.

As James slumped into one of the chairs, Kevin turned around to look at him.

'Good morning,' he said with a laugh. 'I see that you made yourself comfortable on the floor.'

James gave him a weak smile and dropped his head down onto the table. He thought about how tired he was and how much he had drunk last night.

Kevin seemed to know what he was thinking and said, 'You should really stop drinking. It's really not good for you.'

'I know that you idiot!' James scowled at him. 'Anyway, you drink as well.' He pointed an accusing finger at Kevin.

'Yes, but not to the extent that you do.' Kevin sat down opposite James. 'Well, at least you have stopped gambling.'

James frowned. 'Why do you say that?'

'Well, I just thought that because we had moved you would stop. I mean, I don't even know if there is a casino near by.' Kevin rushed his words, hoping that James would not be angry with him.

James just laughed. 'Don't worry, I'll find one. Just you wait and see.

Kevin sighed. He wished that he had never brought it up. The two boys both fell silent. Kevin stared at James. He was getting very worried about him drinking so much but what scared him more was the fact that James didn't seem to care about his health at all. All James did was drink and gamble. No wonder he was always so miserable.

Kevin tried to think of something funny to say to cheer James up, but then he remembered something important.

'What is going on with this Mungo guy? Are we supposed to go meet up with him?'

'OH!' James lifted his head from the table. 'Yeah…he's comin over at umm…three. I think.' He flopped back down again and closed his eyes.

'Great', Kevin thought sarcastically. They were planning to do some serious business with this dude and James was as hung-over as physically possible. They would be doomed!

But it was not as bad as he thought it would be. By the time Richard Mungo had arrived, James had sobered up and was in a much better mood. They talked about their idea of working together and Richard seemed really keen.

'I think it would be good fun to work with you two. You both seem like decent, sensible lads.' Richard smiled at them.

Kevin laughed to himself silently. If they were sensible lads, they would not be deciding to become criminals. It was madness.

Richard rubbed his hands together. 'Right. Let's get started. I know of an old garage near by. We can start our business there OK?' The boys nodded at him. 'Look, I know that you two don't know much about car jacking, but that's OK. I can teach you. The only part that we are interested in is the cars. We are the ones who work on the cars and make them OK to sell. Then, we let my buddy Craig handle the rest. He's in charge of selling the parts and making sure that no one suspects anything. Do you boys understand?'

Kevin and James nodded again, then looked at each other. Before the talk of car jacking had been just an idea, but now it was really happening. In a way, it scared them. They were risking their lives and putting themselves in danger of going to prison. It was scary, but very exciting.

* * *

Hope you liked it! Please review! Things really start to get going in the next chapter :)

Arcus Pluvius.


	4. The Beginning of the End

**Chapter Four**

_The Beginning of the End_

It was old. Very old. The sign which had once been hanging up high, beckoning people to drive through and fill up their petrol tanks with 'the cheapest petrol for miles' was lying in the shabby grass by the side of the road. There were tyres and old car parts littered everywhere. The building had completely fallen down and it looked like no one had been there for years.

'So this is it?' Kevin asked folding his arms.

'Yep. Isn't it perfect?' Richard gave him a friendly slap on the back which sent Kevin flying forward. 'At first I thought that it was too good to be true.' Kevin looked blank, 'I mean how likely was it that I would find an abandoned garage with all the space we need! This is great, don't you think?'

'Yeah, sure.' Kevin replied sarcastically. He personally thought that it was a complete dump.

Richard however obviously did not think the same. Kevin realised that he must have either been really stupid or he did not understand the meaning of sarcasm, for he said, 'I knew you'd like it!'

'Actually I think that…' Kevin was interrupted by James who stopped him before he insulted the man who was about to help them make a lot of money.

'It's great! Isn't it Kevin?' James prodded him in the back.

'Umm…yeah, great.'

Richard smiled and turned to the boys. 'Now, once we get this place cleaned up, we can get to work. There are loads of places to nab cars from around here. Most of the security cameras have either been smashed up or broken and no one can be bothered to fix them. That means that this is the best spot to start our…little business.' Richard laughed to himself. 'Are you two still cool to start working soon?'

James and Kevin nodded. They were both very excited and eager to start but neither of them had any idea what they were doing.

Richard could see this on their faces and said with a laugh, 'Look don't worry about it. I will teach you guys everything you need know but first of all…' he picked up an old ripped tyre and through it at Kevin. Kevin was not expecting this and stumbled backwards into James. 'We need to do a clean up.'

After two long hours of hard work the three of them stood back and examined their work. Kevin had to admit that it looked a lot better. They had cleared up all the tyres and car parts and swept the floor. The building was still a mess but Richard had said that he would have someone bring a skip and have it all taken away. The only thing left to do was talk.

They walked back to the flat and sat at the kitchen table. Craig, the guy in charge of selling the cars was expected to arrive soon to help explain what was going to happen. James was feeling pretty excited. The only thing which he really wanted was to have money in his pockets. He wanted to be rich and know that he didn't need to worry about not having a place to stay or enough money to buy food. Kevin on the other hand just wanted to feel like he was doing something useful with his life. He needed to be doing something and not just sitting at home or going out to get drunk. He was not very pleased with what he was doing with his life, but it was better than nothing.

A few minutes later a knock sounded at the door. Richard got up from the table and went to answer it. James and Kevin exchange quick glances. They were not sure what to expect but what they saw was a complete surprise.

Craig Durum was of middle height and had short brown hair, tinted with blond. He was wearing a suit and smart polished black shoes and he had a briefcase in his right hand. He marched into the room and plonked himself down into one of the sets. He placed his hands onto the table and began.

'I realise that you have found a perfect location to work and you are ready to start. I just firstly need to tell you about my job and how I fit in. After you have dealt with the cars, I will send some guys to collect the parts and they bring them to me. I will then find customers in need of the parts and make a sale. Then money will be sent to you about a day later. I…' Craig stopped and stared at the two boys. Richard did the same.

'Are you two ok? Do you understand what we are on about?' Richard asked.

'Yeah, we understand.' James replied. 'Why?'

'Oh it's just you both looked a little bewildered. Are we going to fast?'

'NO! No it's fine. Continue.' James was eager to know everything there was to know about Car Jacking and he was interested in what Craig had to say.

'I was thinking that you guys could get ten percent of the profit,' Craig continued. 'That means for one car you would probably get ab…'

'What! Only ten percent! Are you kidding me?' James was outraged. He stared at Craig as if he were insane.

Richard looked as if he was going to pound James on the head for being so rude but Craig kept calm. He smiled at James and laughed.

'What are you laughing at?' James felt stupid for being laughed at. He scowled and turned to Kevin for help. Kevin caught his gaze but shrugged.

Craig stopped laughing and looked at Richard. 'They are a good laugh, you were right.'

Richard smiled quickly, pretending to find this funny but the truth was he had no idea if Craig was angry or not.

'Look son, your job is easy. All you have to do is take a load of cars apart and fix 'em up a bit. I have to make sure that no one suspects what you are doing, find customers and make the sales. I think that considering there are three of you, you two can live with only ten percent. Now if you want to work together, you might just want to shut your mouth or you might just find that the cops are after you.' Craig raised his eyebrow and smirked.

James glared at him and muttered to himself. He was obviously annoyed and Kevin could tell that the only thing he wanted to do was garb Craig around the neck and smack his head down on the table.

* * *

'Is this right?' James beckoned Richard over to examine his work.

'Yeah, that's good. Well done, keep it going.' Richard patted James on the back and strolled over to the other side of the car where Kevin was trying to take off the wheels. Richard bent down to have a look. 'This is good, but you might want to try using this one instead,' Richard reached over Kevin and picked up another spanner from the box, 'this should be easier.'

Kevin smiled at him. 'Thanks.' He got back to work and within five minutes he had successfully removed two of the wheels. He got up and wondered over to James side of the car. James was easily using a spanner to remove the exhaust pipe from the bottom of the vehicle.

'You're very good at this. Come to think of it you are very good at most things.' Kevin watched as James slid out from under the car and looked up at him.

'What makes you say that?'

'Well, you can drive a motor bike, drive a car, speak four languages fluently, you can fight, you are ace at maths and you know an awful lot about gambling. Face it James, you are extremely talented.' Kevin held out a hand and helped heave James onto his feet.

James brushed himself down and ruffled his hair. 'So I'm talented am I?' Kevin nodded. 'Well what about you.'

Kevin looked startled. 'What? I don't have any talent whatsoever!'

James laughed. 'Come on! You have to have some talent.' Kevin shook his head. 'Well…you're a writer.'

'Ha! You haven't even read anything I ever wrote! How do you know if I'm any good?'

'I'm sure you are. Why don't you let me read something?' James wiped his hands on a cloth and pulled off his sweaty t-shirt.

Kevin felt embarrassed. He stared at James's muscular body and turned a deep shade of red.

'Wow! What's wrong with your face?' James peered at Kevin which caused him to blush even more.

Kevin turned away and tried to cover his face. 'Nothing. I think it's just…um…the Sun.' He stumbled backwards and tripped over the wheel he had just removed from the car. Pain shot up his back as he landed on the concrete ground.

James laughed out loud at this. He wiped a tear from his eye and made his way over to Kevin.

Kevin felt like a complete idiot. Whenever he was around James he felt extremely self-conscious. He wanted to hide and not let James see how uncomfortable and unconfident a person he was. As James made his way over, Kevin tried to get up on his own but his back was throbbing with pain. He gasped and rubbed the small of his back.

James smiled down at him and put his arm around Kevin's back. He helped him slowly off the ground. 'There you go.'

'Thanks' Kevin murmured quietly. He brushed the dust off of his t-shirt and looked up to see James watching him. 'What?'

'Nothing, it's just…dude, guys don't blush. It looks strange!' James laughed and patted Kevin on the back and then strolled over to the building a few metres away.

When they had first gone to have a look at the garage, the building had been nothing more than a pile of bricks. Craig however had had some men come and clear it all away and within a week a new building had been made. It was not very big but it had everything they needed. A fridge had been installed and a desk for Richard was at one end of the room.

As James entered he saw Richard sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen. The phone rang just as James was about to speak. Richard put up his hand and picked up the phone.

'Hello?...Oh hi…OK sure. That's fine.' He smiled at James and said, 'I think they're ready.' A few moments later he put the phone down and interlocked his fingers. He watched as James got a Ginger Beer from the fridge.

'What was that about?' James asked before gulping half the can.

'You.' Richard grinned at the confused James and explained. 'Craig has found a customer who is interested in buying some car parts. We however have just sold the last of our parts so that means that we are behind.' He gave a James a look and continued. 'This means that we need to get some more cars in. Now, I would usually do that on my own but I need your help.'

'Me?' James was surprised.

'And Kevin too. I need you two to come with me and help. Is that OK?'

'That would be great…I mean yes, thanks' James grabbed another beer for Kevin and ran out to tell him the news.

* * *

'James, shut up! You idiot, you'll get us caught!' Richard snarled quietly to James who was whistling to himself.

'Why? There's no one here!'

'Still, be quiet.' Richard, Kevin and James were standing with their backs to the car pack. There was no one around but Richard had insisted on a brief check. They searched the car park then studied the road. It was almost deserted as it should be at three in the morning. 'I think it's OK.' Richard turned to the boys. 'You know what to do?' the boys nodded. 'Good. Let's go.'

Richard led the way. He wondered over to a Jaguar XKS parked at the furthest end of the car park. He looked up to the block of flats to check that there was no one watching them, and then he beckoned James and Kevin over. James went to the front of the car and began to remove the number plate. Kevin did the same at the back of the car while Richard worked at unlocking the driver's door. He pulled a long, thin piece of wire out of his pocket and slid it into the lock. Within moments the door was open and Richard had dived into the seat. He quickly began to disable the car alarm before it woke up too many people. They all knew that once they had the car unlocked, the alarm would sound and they would have to be as quick as possible.

James had by now pulled the number plate off and he broke it in half and shoved it into his coat pocket. He looked over the top of the car and saw that Kevin had also finished and had climbed into the back of the car. James did the same. The two of them watched closely as Richard fiddled around with endless wires. They had no idea where they had come from but it looked as if Richard had taken the whole of the inside of the car to pieces.

As James watched, he was sure that if he had the chance, he could figure out how to jumpstart the car. Whilst at Cherub, he had learnt a lot of handy things but jumpstarting a car had not been one of them. This was because when James was younger, one of his friends had been taught how to start a vehicle and had hijacked a member of staff's car as a joke. He was given two hundred punishment laps and had been banned from going on missions for six months. James had thought that this was extremely unfair but it had been the head of Cherub's car, so he was not surprised.

This reminded James of how much he was hiding from Kevin and everyone else. His whole life was a lie. He badly wanted to tell Kevin everything but he knew that if he did, Kevin would not believe him.

Kevin turned to James and found him staring at him. Kevin looked away from him. His feelings for James had grown a lot over the past few months and it was hard to keep it a secret. Whenever James talked to him, Kevin had to think twice about his answer before saying anything, just in case he said anything dumb. Kevin had never had feelings like this for anyone before and he didn't think that he would ever again.

* * *

As the half moon rose slowly above the houses, a tall figure stood and watched a car pulled up into a driveway and two boys get out. He watched as they went inside the block of flats and disappeared. The figure walked towards the flats then waited. He saw the lights of the top flat come on and a hand come out of the window to pull it shut.

About five minutes later, all the lights were off and the street was silent. He looked around, got into a car and drove off. It was time to find Richard Mungo.

* * *

'Hey James. Can I borrow this shirt?' Kevin lifted up one of James's white shirts so James could see it.

'Yeah, sure but you do have your own.' James sipped his coffee while eyeing Kevin.

'I know I do but I like yours better.'

'In that case, why don't you buy some yourself?' James walked over to Kevin and opened up the top draw. He pulled out a blue shirt and studied it. 'I should really throw this old thing out.'

'Why? That's just a waste of money.'

'Kevin please, we have all the money we will ever need! I told you that this car jacking thing would work.'

Kevin smiled as James slipped on a new black t-shirt and pulled on his new trainers. They had been working with Richard and Craig for five months and during that time they had gained thousands of pounds. While James had spent a lot of money on things he didn't really need, Kevin had decided to save his money for something useful. He still hoped to go to collage one day but he wasn't sure when that opportunity would come around.

'When do you think we will stop working with Richard?' Kevin followed James out into the living room.

'What? Why would we stop working with him?'

'Well I thought that we were only working with him to get enough money to look after ourselves, and then we would stop car jacking and do something constructive with our lives.'

'Why stop now? Look, if we keep on with the car jacking, we can be millionaires in no time.' James picked up a magazine from the coffee table and began to read.

Kevin just stood and stared at him. James looked up. 'What?'

'James, I don't think we should keep doing this anymore. I want to do something else you know, like got to collage or get a proper job. Don't you want that too?'

'Why would I bother with that when I have all I need right here?' James laughed at Kevin then slumped onto the couch. He flicked the TV on and propped his feet up on the table.

Kevin sat down next to him and watched him closely. He realised that James didn't care about anything apart from money and where his next beer was coming from. When they had first met, Kevin had thought that James was kind and fun to be around. Now he understood that James was selfish, lazy and a bit of a brat.

'I can't believe you!' Kevin was angry at James for his childish behaviour.

'Excuse me?' James sat up quickly.

'You? When did you become so…so…stupid?'

'What?' James instantly took offence to this and clenched his fists.

'So stupid and selfish and immature. You told me that you were only going to do this ridiculous car jacking thing until we had some cash. If we keep doing this we'll get caught!'

'Oh so you think it's ridiculous do you? Then why are you still doing it?'

'Because I have to!' Kevin jumped up from the couch. 'The only reason I'm doing this is because of you. I have to stay to make sure that you don't do anything stupid!'

'Shut the hell up! If you don't want to be here you should just leave! I don't need you to baby sit me so shut up or get out.' James's face was right up against Kevin's. He badly wanted to beat him to the floor but he knew that if he did, Kevin would not be able to fight him back and he would end up hurting him.

'This is my flat too. If you remember, I paid for most of it. Or have you forgotten how you spent all your money and mine for that matter!'

'SHUT UP!' James once again resisted the temptation to hurt Kevin. Kevin on the other hand did not. He grabbed James's wrist and twisted it violently to the right. James was startled but a second later he had ripped Kevin's hand off of his arm and had bent it behind his back. Kevin let out a yelp then looked down. He lifted his knee and kicked James in the crotch. James let go of Kevin and doubled over in pain. Kevin had kicked him hard and he could hardly stand. Kevin stood back. He felt awful. He watched as James stumbled over to the couch and drop down. He went to James side and knelt down.

'Sorry. Are you OK?'

James through him a disgusted glance which indicated that he was in no mood to talk. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It was just…just' Kevin tried to find the right word. 'It was an automatic reaction.' He put a hand on James's shoulder but James shrugged it off.

'Right.' Kevin sat on his heals and rubbed his knees. 'I should go now.' He slowly stood up and headed to his bedroom. He quickly changed from his pyjamas to a clean set of clothes and then headed for the front door. When he got there, James was still on the floor clutching his stomach. Kevin couldn't think of anything to say, and decided to leave.

After a long drive Kevin decided to go and visit Richard. He and James had not seen him for a few days and he had not picked up his phone or returned their calls.

As Kevin pulled up to Richard's house he noticed something weird. It was midday in the middle of September but the house lights were all on. Kevin climbed out of the car and walked up to the door. He pressed the buzzer and waited.

When no one came to the door, Kevin became suspicious. He knew that even if Richard was not in, his wife should be. He rang the bell again but when no one came once more, he knew that something had happened to them.

Kevin pushed on the front door and it slowly swung open. He peered through the crack, his heart beat increasing by the second. His heart nearly stopped however when he saw the inside of the house.

The first thing he saw was his reflection. As he stepped over the thresh hold, he heard a crack. He looked down and saw himself in a broken mirror. His face was pale. He realised that the hairs on the back of his neck were beginning to stand up. A cold chill ran down his back when he looked up.

Sprawled over the sofa was a body. It was covered from head to toe in blood. Kevin knew who it was but he didn't want to believe it. He carefully walked over to the body trying not to slip on any of the blood that plastered the floor. When he reached the sofa, the smell hit him like a slap in the face. It was so strong he could hardly breathe without feeling sick. Kevin quickly backed away from the body. He covered his mouth and nose and turned to face the wall.

He breathed slowly through his hand. He had to find out what had happened and why.

As Kevin examined the room, he heard a strange noise. He stared up at the ceiling then he looked back at Richards decaying corps. He realised that the sound he could hear were the hordes of flies hovering above Richard. They were buzzing insanely over his head. Kevin took a step closer only to see that his whole face was black with feeding flies.

Kevin almost burst into tears. His friend was dead and seeing him like this made him feel sick. He ran out of the house and shut the door behind him. Kevin pulled out his mobile and dialled James's number.

At first he did not pick up but Kevin had expected this. He hung up and dialled again. He had to try three more times before James picked up.

'What do you want?' James asked angrily.

'You need to get down to Richard's house. Now!'

* * *

'Oh my God!' James gasped when he saw the room. He put his hand to his mouth and fell silent. Kevin watched him. He could tell that James was upset but he was trying not to show it. 'What happened?' When Kevin shook his head, James made his way over to Richard. He took at quick look then recoiled. He screwed up his face. 'This is sick!'

Kevin nodded. He couldn't bring himself to speak. His eyes stung with tears and his hands were shaking violently. 'Wh…what should we d…do?' he swallowed and tried to control himself.

'God, I don't know.' James gave Kevin a grim look. 'I guess we should take a look round the rest of the house.' James examined Kevin's face. He was extremely pale and his eyes were wide with shock. 'Are you OK?'

Kevin didn't move. His eyes were fixed on Richard's body. James walked up to him and grasped his shoulders. 'Come on. Let's go have a look round. Kevin…Kevin?' James shook him.

Kevin finally looked into James's eyes. James smiled at him then led the way out of the living room, passed the kitchen and into the dinning room. On the floor was a safe. It had been broken into and there was nothing inside.

James studied the safe then saw that there was paper littering then floor. He picked up one of the pieces of paper and began to read. 'Shit!'

'What is it?' Kevin bent down to look over James's shoulder.

'It's about our business with Craig. It's one of the sales he made.'

'Why would Richard have it?' Kevin was confused. He reached forward and took the paper off of James to read it himself.

'I don't know. I guess Craig and Richard thought that it was the safest place to keep it.'

'Well they got that wrong.'

'Hmmm.' James stood up and walked to the stairs. 'Kevin, pick up all of the papers while I go take a look up stairs.' Kevin nodded and began to collect up the papers.

James took a deep breath and jogged up to the first floor. All the lights were still on. He flicked a switch and they all faded out. He looked round a few doors and found nothing. There were only five rooms on the floor and the only ones he hadn't checked were the main bedroom and the on-suit.

James opened the door to the bedroom. At first he couldn't see anything strange but when he stepped inside and close the door he saw it. A huge pool of blood had seeped through from under the bathroom door. James gulped. His hands were clammy and his heart pulsed madly under his shirt.

When he reached the door, he had no choice but to stand in the mass of blood. He expected it to squelch under his foot but there was no sound. James looked down and realised that the blood was almost dry. Who ever this blood had belonged to, must have been dead for a few days. He closed his eyes for a few seconds then pushed open the bathroom door.

James had never felt so sick. His stomach turned and he suddenly felt extremely dizzy. A moment later James heard a blood curdling scream. It was Kevin.

* * *

Please R&R!


	5. Richard Mungo and Ron Onions

Sorry for the wait!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

_Richard Mungo and Ron Onions_

James ran out of the bathroom and hurtled down the stairs. 'Kevin! What's wrong?'

When he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw Kevin staring up at the ceiling. He looked carefully at Kevin's face and noticed that there were a few drops of blood on his forehead.

James followed Kevin's gaze to the ceiling and gasped. A huge red patch of blood had stained the ceiling and was dripping. James realised that it was the blood from the bathroom which had seeped through the floor.

James took Kevin by the arm and led him towards the door. 'Let's get out of here. Now.'

Kevin didn't speak. He just let James drag him outside to the fresh air.

'Did you get all the papers?' Kevin nodded. 'Good. If anyone had found them, they would know about the car jacking.'

'Even if they did, they wouldn't know that we were involved.' Kevin replied shakily.

'Maybe not but I bet that if they got the police involved and Craig got in trouble, he would sell us out.' James replied. Kevin agreed with him. They didn't know Craig well enough to trust him.

'Do you think we should call the police?' Kevin sat down on the stone steps in front of the house.

James sat next to him. 'No.'

'Why?'

'Because,' James sighed. 'if we call the police they would want to know why we are here and how we know, I mean knew, Richard.' James could still not believe that he was dead. The image of his rotting body came back into his mind. He shivered as he remembered the bodies in the bathroom. James decided not to tell Kevin about what he had seen because he knew that it would upset him more.

The two boys watched the road. It was not very busy but James felt strangely uncomfortable. He felt as if there was someone watching them. He decided that it was probably just the knowledge that there were four dead people in the house behind him that made him feel so agitated.

* * *

The day went by extremely slowly. Kevin sat staring at the clock for what felt like hours while James paced the living room. Neither of them could stop thinking about what had happened. James had told Kevin to forget about it. He said that someone would find Richard soon and call the police who would hopefully figure out who had killed him.

Kevin couldn't stop feeling bad for leaving the house and not calling the police though. Richard was their friend and Kevin knew that if anything had happened to them, Richard would have done all he could to help. Now it was Kevin's turn to help Richard by finding out who had killed him. He then remembered something.

'What happened to his wife and kids?'

James stopped pacing and turned to face Kevin. He gulped and sat on the couch. 'Um…they well they…'

'They were upstairs weren't they?'

James stared down at the floor between his feet and answered. 'Yes. They were all dead.' A tear came to his eye and he let it fall. It dripped down onto his knee. It was followed by another and another. James quickly got up from his seat and hurried to his room and shut the door.

Kevin left him alone. He knew that it was best to let him cry and greave now instead of keeping it all inside. That's what James did when Kevin's mum had died. He let him cry and let go of all the anger and pain.

* * *

Kevin had planed to call the police and tell them about Richard but he hadn't wanted to go against what James had said. He was sitting by the phone. James was in the shower so it was the perfect time to call. Kevin reached for the phone when it rang out.

Kevin jumped then quickly picked up the phone. 'Hello?'

'Hello' said a male voice. 'Is this James Choke?'

Kevin was confused. James's surname was Adams not Choke. Maybe this person had got it wrong. 'No sorry, he…he's in the next room, um…wait a second please.' Kevin got up and ran to the bathroom. 'James there's someone on the phone for you.' At first there was no answer but when Kevin said that they were asking for James Choke, the door flung open.

'What? Who was it?'

'Um...I don't know.' Kevin could hardly speak. He was staring at James's chest. He had dressed apart from his t-shirt and he was wet. Kevin turned red and looked away from him. 'They…um…they didn't say who they were.'

James pushed past him and grabbed the phone. 'Who is this?'

Kevin watched as James's face fell. He ran his hand through his hair and slowly put down the phone.

'Who was it?' Kevin was intrigued. He wanted to find out why the person had thought that James was called James Choke.

'It was the police. They want me to go to the police station and talk to them about Richard Mungo'

Kevin was shocked. Why did they want to talk to James about Richard? How did they know that James knew Richard? Kevin had so many questions but he decided that the best people to answer them were the police.

James went to his room to get dressed then the two boys drove to the station. When they entered they were greeted by a policeman who was standing by the door.

'Are you James Choke?' he asked in a strong Scottish accent.

'Yes.' James replied. 'Why do I have to be here?'

The police officer completely ignored his question and said 'Come with me.'

He led the boys to a small room at the back of the station. He told Kevin to sit outside while Officer Gradins asked James a few questions.

The first offices, who was called Officer Cunningham, followed James into the room.

'Sit' he said. James did as he was told. The room was cold and the walls were grey and blank. The only things in the room were the table and the two chairs at either side. James looked up to see who was sitting opposite him. The tall officer glanced at him then placed his hands on the table.

'So James. Can you tell me exactly how you knew Richard Mungo?'

James didn't like Officer Gradin's tone of voice. He gave a false smile then copied the officer by placing his hands on the table.

'We were friends.'

'Hmmm, is that right? Well then, can you tell me when you found out that he had passed away?'

James thought about this one. He didn't want to let anything slip about the car jacking and he knew that he had to keep cool. He had been in situations like this before when he was on missions but this was different. On the missions, he knew that if he got into trouble with the police, Cherub would be able to help him out but this was real. It was his real life at stake. He had to be careful.

'I found out yesterday.' James decided to stick as close to the truth as possible. That would make it easier for him to keep his story straight. 'I went to his house to see him.'

'Oh so you admit that you went to his house?' Officer Gradins bent forward towards him. James sunk back into his seat.

He was confused by his question and said 'Yes' very slowly. 'Why wouldn't I?'

Gradins smiled. 'I'll ask the questions here OK? Now tell me, when you went to the house, what did you do?'

'Well when no one answered the door, I went inside.' James didn't mention Kevin. He thought that it was best not to get him involved. 'The room, it was a mess. All the furniture was broken and the mirror was smashed. Then I saw Richard on the sofa. He was covered in blood.'

'Do you know how he was killed?' James shook his head. 'You're being recorded, please answer.' Officer Gradins sighed impatiently. James glared at him.

'No. I don't know how he was killed.' James was angry. Why was he asking him these questions?

'So what did you do when you saw Richard's body?'

'I…I went home.' James suddenly realised how bad that sounded.

'Really? That's strange. Why didn't you call the police?' Officer Gradins raised his eyebrow and folded his arms.

'I guess, I guess I was scared, or something.' James shrugged. He didn't know what else to say.

'So after you found your friend dead, you went home, because you were scared?' The officer had obviously found this amusing.

'That's what I said.' James growled.

'Ok then. Well we have someone here who claims to have seen you enter the Mungo household four days ago on the fourteenth of September which was the night of Richard and his family's murders. He says that you were in the house for a good hour before you left in your car.'

'Who? Who said this? It's a lie! I wasn't there.'

'Mr Choke please calm down! Now would you like to see him?' James nodded. He was completely shocked. They thought that he had killed Richard and his wife and kids. How this of could happened he didn't know.

Officer Gradins called to Officer Cunningham who opened the door to let in the witness. James's heart stopped when he saw who it was.

He gasped 'You? What are you doing here?' Uncle Ron through him a sly smile. 'You, you're supposed to be in jail!'

'Got let out. Good behaviour.' Ron laughed.

'Now this witness claims to have seen you at the house. So,' Gradins turned to Ron. 'tell us what you remember.'

Ron told the officer about how he was walking to his car after going into town with his friends when he saw James enter Richard's house. He told them that he thought that James was acting suspiciously so he decided to stay and watch him from his car. After about an hour he claimed to have seen James leave the house and drive off. The officer asked him if he could remember the type of car but of course he couldn't. Ron wouldn't have known what car James had if he even had one. Ron said that he couldn't remember and continued. He said that after James left the house he was going to call the police when he decided that he was being silly and that nothing had happened. Then when he found out that Richard was dead he called the police.

'How did you know that he was dead?' Gradins had already found faults in Ron's story.

Ron smiled pleasantly at him. 'We knew each other before I was sent to jail. So when I thought that something might have happened to him I was worried. I went to his house yesterday to check on him and found him dead, so that's when I called you guys.'

'OK. You can go now but don't leave town, we may need you to repeat what you told us in court.' Officer Cunningham came back in and led Ron out of the room.

'What? Court? I didn't do anything!' James jumped up from the table.

'Yeah, yeah you just keep on saying that. Trouble is we have proof that you may have murdered Richard Mungo and his wife and two daughters. That means that we have to hold you here until we can find out more.' Officer Gradins took James by the arm and led him out of the room. As they passed Kevin who was sitting outside the interview room he stood up and tried to speak to James.

'James, what's…' The officer cut him off.

'No questions now.'

Kevin ignored the officer and stepped in front of James. 'Have they arrested you?'

'No they haven't, not yet anyway.' Officer Gradins pushed Kevin out of the way and led James through a door and down a long corridor. He stopped outside a small cell, opened the door and trusted James inside. James had to stop himself from falling on his face. By the time he had regained his balance; Gradins had slammed the door shut and locked it.

'Good night Mr Choke, sleep tight.' And with that, he disappeared down the corridor again, leaving James alone.

James looked around the room and swore loudly. This was the worst thing he could imagine of happening. He had to get out before Ron got him sent to Jail.

James couldn't sleep. He tried to but so many things were running through his mind all at once. He couldn't understand why Ron was trying to get him sent to prison. James knew that Ron didn't like him but he had never thought that Ron would do something like this. There had to be a reason.

He paced the room. His head was spinning. He wanted to forget about everything that had happened to him since he left Cherub. James thought about Lauren. She would be ashamed of him. Everyone would. He felt like he had disappointed them all.

When the sun rose the next morning, James was fast asleep. His head was buried in his folded arms and he was breathing heavily. He awoke when the door of his cell squeaked open. He yawned and sat up. Rubbing his eyes he turned to see Officer Gradins standing in the doorway.

'Good morning.' he said unenthusiastically. 'Now get up. There are some people in the interview room to see you.'

James frowned. He couldn't think of anyone who would come and see him except Kevin but there were two people. He stood up, stretched and followed Officer Gradins to the interview room.

James was strangely not surprised to see Lauren and Zara sitting at the table. He tried to smile at them but he couldn't. There was nothing to smile about. He sat down and looked at them.

'Twenty minuets.' Officer Gradins barked as he slipped out of the room.

'James.' Zara said in a gentle voice. 'What have you done? Why are they holding you? Is it bad?'

James nodded. 'Very bad.'

Zara took a deep breath and Lauren's face had turned white. 'What did you do?'

'I didn't do anything. The police however think that I have.' James decided not to say anything about the car jacking. Being accused of murder was bad enough.

'Well what do the police think you have done then?' Zara reached out and took James's hand.

James swallowed hard. 'I'm being held for murder.'

Zara gasped and Lauren burst into tears. James got up from the table and crouched down in front of her.

'Lauren I didn't do it. I promise.' He pulled her forward into a hug. She grasped onto him, crying into his shoulder.

'Why do they think that you did it?' Zara asked. Her voice was shaky.

'Ron.' James replied over Laurens head as he stood up.

'What?' Lauren stared at him in surprise. 'What dose Ron have to do with it?'

James sighed and sat down again. He told them all about what Ron had said to the police. Zara and Lauren were shocked. None of then could understand why Ron was trying to get James sent to jail. They all knew that he was up to something.

Lauren had been extremely quiet for a long time. James leant over the table and took her hand in his. She looked up at him and smiled weakly.

'What's wrong?' James asked while stroking her long pale fingers.

'Nothing it's just…' She stopped.

'What? What is it?'

'It's just if Ron had never come into mum's life, none of this would have happened.' A tear trickled down her face.

James smiled and laughed quietly. 'Lauren, if Ron had never come along, you wouldn't be here and that would hurt more than being in prison.' They grinned at each other. Zara smiled to. James had always cared about Lauren but he didn't very often show it so it made her happy to see a new side to James. The part that really cared.

* * *

Please R &R! :)


	6. Run!

I hope you like it so far. Thank you so much for all of your reviews.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

_Run!_

After Zara and Lauren had left, James was taken back to his cell. He thought about his life at Cherub and he wished that he could go back and that none of this had happened. He wanted to be with all his friends and know that he was safe. Now he was more scared than he had ever been in his life.

The worst thing about the whole situation was Kevin. James could end up getting him in trouble too. Kevin had been a friend when James needed one and now he repaid him by possibly getting him sent to prison.

James lay down on his hard bed and closed his eyes. He was starting to believe that he was never going to get out of going to jail. He was fed up of living a lie. It was time he owned up to what he had done.

The next time he saw Officer Gradins walk past his cell, James called out to him.

'Office, I need to talk to you.'

Gradins stopped, not looking at James and said, 'Well I'm very busy.'

'Yes well this is very important.' James walked up to the door and watched him.

Officer Gradins sighed and unlocked the door. He took hold of James's arm to make sure that he didn't try to escape.

James laughed. 'What, you don't trust me?'

'Ha ha ha. Very funny now get on with it. What do you want?'

'To talk.'

* * *

'So you're telling me that you and Richard Mungo were working together, car jacking?' Officer Gradins placed his hand on his long chin and waited for James's answer.

James nodded. 'That's why I went to see him. I wanted to know what our next job was. When I got there however, he was dead.' James didn't say anything about Kevin. He wanted to make sure that Kevin didn't get in trouble for anything. James had made Kevin help him with the car jacking, even when he thought that it was a stupid thing to do.

'Ok so now you have just got yourself into more trouble then before. Why?'

'I know you think I have, but I didn't kill Richard. He was my friend. Why would I kill him?'

Gradins studied James from across the table. He smiled. 'So you could get all of the money?'

'What? I wouldn't do that. You can't honestly think that I killed him?' James was flustered. He couldn't believe that Officer Gradins still thought that he had killed Richard after all he had told him.

'Well you see Mr Choke, I do. You had a reason to want to kill Richard and we also have an eye witness who claims to have seen you enter the house on the night of the murder. So at the moment things are not looking up for you.' Gradins interlocked his fingers and clicked them.

James cringed. He felt physically sick. He had intended to get himself out of trouble but had ended up causing more problems than before.

Officer Gradins could see that James was upset and said. 'Look, I want to help you, I do. The only think is, is that there is proof against you.'

James was startled by gradins sudden change of attitude. 'You really want to help me?' Gradins nodded. 'Well you seemed pretty happy to lock me up before so why the change?'

'Ok look, I'm just doing my job so if you want my help, you better listen. OK?'

James was silent. He was confused but decided that Officer Gradins's offer of help was sincere. 'OK. I'm sorry.'

Gradins nodded at him. 'Right, the witness, you think that he is lying?'

'Yeah, he hates me. I never thought that he would do something like this but now, I'm not so sure.'

'OK so this Ronald Onions guy, how do you two know each other?'

'He's my sisters Dad. My Dad left when I was born and then Ron came along and married my Mum. Then Mum through him out after she had Lauren but he still came back. He said that it was to see my sister but he was only there to steal my Mum's money. However Mum knew that he was taking her money, so she kept all the big money in a safe, in her room. When she died, I took all the money so Ron couldn't get it.'

'Right, so how long after that was Ron sent to jail?'

'Oh. I was sent to a foster home but my sister had to stay with Ron. The only thing he wanted her for was to help him sell his drugs. Anyway, it was only a short time before he was locked up but there is something else I need to tell you.'

'Oh OK, what's that then?'

'Ron told you that he knew Richard before, right?'

'Yes right but what...?'

'Well Richard told me all about it. He said that they worked together selling drugs but when Richard had his first daughter, he decided to stop. Ron got angry and threatened him so Richard stopped working with him and moved here to Manchester with his family. When Ron got in trouble with the cops he tried to blame it on Richard but they couldn't find any evidence against him. So Ron was sent to jail and Richard was fine. I asked Richard if he thought that Ron's threat was serious and he said that you could never be sure what Ron was capable of.'

'Wait, so you think that it was Ron that killed Richard?' Gradins sat up and looked unconvinced.

'Well yeah. He had more of a motive than I had and he did threaten to kill Richard.' James was now more certain that it was Ron than ever. It all fitted. Ron had been mad at Richard so he killed him. Then when he found out that he was working with James, he pined it all on him.

'There is just one problem. How do I know that you are telling the truth?' Gradins folded his arms on the table and looked James straight in the eyes.

'I am telling the truth. Why would I tell you all about the car jacking and then lie about this?'

Gradins got up. 'I don't James but I think I've herd enough. Come on.' He took James's arm and led him out.

'Oh come on. You have to believe me. I..,' James stopped when he saw Ron standing in the middle of the station. He shrugged the officer off and sprinted to him. He grabbed Ron's collard and pulled his face towards his own. 'You little, why are you doing this. I know you did it. It was all you. You killed Richard, just tell them!' James was suddenly pulled backwards by the large hands of Officer Cunningham. He twisted James's arms behind his back and shoved him towards the door leading to his cell. As he went past James saw Officer Gradins shaking his head at him. James knew that he had made a huge mistake. Ron would deny everything and he would be sent to prison for the rest of his life.

* * *

Later in the day, James had his finger prints taken. He tried to ask Officer Gradins what Ron had said to him but Gradins would not tell him anything.

As he locked the door to James's cell, James asked, 'Am I ever going to get out of here?'

Officer Gradins said nothing. He looked up at James sighing and shrugged.

'Come on, please. What did Ron say? Please tell me.'

Gradins rubbed his face. He was extremely tired and he was getting no where on James's case which frustrated him. 'He didn't say much at all. He admitted to knowing Richard like he did before but he denied all charges. I'm sorry James; I can't help you any more.'

He was about to walk away when James grabbed his arm through the bars. 'OK but tell me this, why do you need my finger prints?'

'It's so we can see if you really went to Richards's house on the night of his murder. If we do find your prints, then there is more evidence to say that you killed him and his family.'

'But you know I went there after he was killed. Surely they will only think that I did it if my finger prints are on his body. Which they're not!' James let go of Gradins arm and ran his hand through his hair. 'You believe me right?'

Officer Gradins gave him a sympathetic smile. 'I'm sorry James.' And with that he left.

James sunk to the floor. He bashed the back of his head against the wall again and again. He had to do something. He needed to get out and there was only one person who could help him. Kevin.

* * *

James waited a whole day before Kevin showed up at the station. He sat staring at the blank wall with a board expression on his face. He wondered if prison was the same. Whether you actually did something or just sat waiting until you were let out or died of boredom. He shook his head. He couldn't think about that. He had to think positive. Kevin would help him and get him out. All James had to do was stay calm.

The day before, James had asked to call a friend to come and see him. At first Officer Gradins had not allowed him to but after some persuasion, he gave in and let James call Kevin.

When Kevin picked up, James told him to come see him. Kevin said he would but he had sounded rather unsure. James had told him not to bring the car and when Kevin asked why, James just told him to do it and that he would explain when he arrived.

Kevin however did not come until the next day. When he opened the door to the station, it was a lot less busy then the first time he had come. There were only a few people around. He looked down at his watch. It was one o'clock and he figured that most of the officers would be having their lunch.

Kevin walked up to one of the many desks. The officer behind the desk was the one he had seen before. Kevin looked at his badge. Officer Cunningham was very tall, even when sitting down. His thick black hair was extremely messy and Kevin was sure that he could see a few leaves tangled up in it too.

'Um, excuse me.' Kevin waited for the officer to look up at him. He did not however. He rudely continued to flick through a pile of paper work. 'HELLO!' Kevin waved his hands in front of Cunningham's face. Officer Cunningham looked up and glared at him.

'What do you want?' He said in a thick Scottish accent. 'I'm very busy.'

'I want to see my friend, James Ada… I mean James Choke please.' Officer Cunningham stared at him.

'Why?'

Kevin was startled by his question. 'Um, because I do. So can I see him?'

Cunningham stood up. 'Fine.' he said in a huff. 'Come with me.' He led Kevin to the interview room where he waited for James.

When James arrived, he looked annoyed.

'What's wrong with you?' Kevin asked as James slumped into the chair.

'You.'

'Me? What? What did I do?'

'You said that you would come.' James was starting to sound whiney.

Kevin laughed. 'Well I am here.' He pointed to himself and laughed.

'Yeah, a day later!' James frowned. 'Did you bring the car?'

'No, you told me not to.'

'Good.' They sat in silence for a few moments.

'OK so why did you want me to come here? Kevin asked confused.

'I need to get out of here and I want you to help me.' James leant forward and rested his elbow on the edge of table. 'I need your help.'

Kevin stayed quiet for a moment. 'James, of course I'll help you but how do you expect to get out of here. It's a police station, they'll stop you. There's no way you can escape.'

James grinned. 'Just wait and see Keffi Starler, I'll get out of here even if it kills me. I will not let Ron Onions ruin my life again!'

* * *

Kevin parked the car just a few streets away from the police station then he checked his watch. One thirty five. Perfect. He quickly glided up the concrete steps and peered through the glass doors. There was hardly anybody inside. As Kevin looked closely, he could see three officers sitting at their desks. Two were on the phone, completely oblivious to the world and the other was filling a huge pile of paper work. Kevin couldn't see Officer Gradins or Cunningham and he hadn't seen any of the other officers before which was what he had wanted. The less people who recognised him the better.

He opened the door and slipped silently inside. No one looked up as he strolled up to the first desk where a small thin woman was sitting, nattering away on her mobile.

'Ahem…excuse me.'

The officer put down her phone and frowned. 'Sorry can I help you?'

'Oh I hope so. Can I see my friend James Choke please?' When the police had called the week before and asked to speak to James Choke, Kevin had been extremely confused but James had explained. He had told Kevin that he had changed his name when he left Cherub. This was a lie like everything else James had ever told Kevin but James decided that it was not a good time to tell Kevin that he had spent most of his life as a secret agent. He needed Kevin's help so he had to make sure that Kevin was on his side and freaking him out would not be a good idea at a time like this.

The police woman quickly ended her conversation with her friend and slid her mobile into her pocket.

'It looks like your job is um… really hard.' Kevin said sarcastically.

The officer glared at him. She typed something into her computer and scrolled down. She looked up. 'Are you Kevin Green?'

Kevin nodded. James had told Kevin to use a fake name to protect himself. Now they had both given the police incorrect names which would make it harder for them to be traced.

Kevin followed the officer to the interrogation room. He stopped just outside the door and turned to face the officer. 'I'll just wait here.'

'OK mister I'm in charge here and the only way you can see Mr. Choke is if you wait for him in there.' She pointed to the room. Kevin forced a smile and opened the door. The officer closed it behind her then went to get James form his cell.

Kevin waited a few seconds until he could see that she had gone then he pushed open the door a crack and looked out. The two other officers were still busy. One suddenly got up and began to walk briskly in Kevin's direction. He quickly shut the door but the officer turned left and he headed for the toilets. Kevin sighed. The last officer was still on the phone and was facing the wall away from Kevin.

Kevin slowly opened the door again and stepped out. He was careful not to make a sound. He looked up to the front doors and quietly ran over to them. He opened the left door and wedged it open with a folded piece of paper. As he stood up, Kevin could here the voice of the first officer coming back with James. Kevin ran away from the door and hid behind a large square pillar close to the wall near the exit. He hoped that the officer would not close the door in which he had just opened. It wouldn't really matter but the faster James and Kevin could escape the better.

Kevin peered around the pillar and caught James's eye. James was pale but he looked determined. Kevin smiled at him then gave him the signal.

James suddenly fell to the floor grasping his stomach. The officer was so surprised when James fell that she nearly fell over as well for she still had a hold of his arm. Kevin darted out from behind the pillar and shoved into the officer. She landed on the ground with a loud thud and Kevin's hand made a sickening crack as it was smashed into the marble wall.

The officer screamed and tried to get up but Kevin held her down. 'Run James, go! Get out of here!'

James paused a second. He didn't want to leave Kevin on his own but he saw the look in Kevin's eyes. Kevin knew what he was doing. He had planned everything. James ran out of the doors and quickly scanned the area. The street was almost deserted but he could see many more people down the road near the shops. James tried to remember where Kevin had said the car would be when Kevin appeared by his side.

Kevin grabbed James's arm and dragged him down the steps and through a side street. They ran down an ally way then James saw Kevin's car.

'Get in now!' Kevin gasped. He could see the male officer running towards them. He was only a hundred meters or so away.

The two boys jumped inside the car and before either of them could think, Kevin turned on the engine and slammed down on the peddle. The car shot forward and they were gone.

James looked back and he could see the officer just appearing at the end of the ally. He was out of breath, James could tell. Just as they were about to take a sharp right, James saw the officer call for back up.

* * *

'How did you do that?' James tapped his cigarette over the window and put it to his lips. He tilted his head back and sighed. 'You were just suddenly there and,' James noticed Kevin's left hand. It had turned purple and his fingers had swollen up. 'Kevin, what did you do?'

Kevin glanced at James then down to his hand. 'Oh um…I slammed it against the wall. It's no biggy.'

'Kevin, it's obviously broken. We need to get you to a hospital.' James tossed his cigarette out of the window. 'Kevin, it looks really bad.'

'James, I'm fine, trust me. The only thing I am concerned about is getting you out of here as soon as possible.'

The airport was only a few miles away from the police station and James could see signs pointing towards it. He looked at his watch and began to panic.

'Kevin we need to get there now! It's almost two and our plane leaves in half an hour!'

'James it's OK, I've got the tickets and our passports in my jacket pocket. All of our stuff is in the back of the car and we will get on that plane I promise. OK?' Kevin glanced at James and smiled. 'I never pictured you to be the nervous type.'

'Well, it's not every day you're on the run from the cops is it. I'm fine, just a bit shaky that's all.'

James couldn't help but keep a close eye on the time. He was still staring at his watch when the car stopped. James looked up. 'Are we here?'

Kevin nodded. 'Yep. You take your stuff and the tickets and get in the queue for the check in desk and I'll ditch the car.'

'Are you sure you want to do that. I mean it's your Mums car…'

'James just go now, before I change my mind.' James gave Kevin a playful punch and grabbed his rucksack and duffle bag from the back seat and climbed out of the car.

'Now be quick. We don't have any time to spare.' Kevin nodded and James ran off in the direction of the airport entrance.

Kevin drove on for a bit then he parked the car in a large, dark ally where he hoped no one would find it until he and James had gone. Kevin pulled his rucksack onto his back and slung his shoulder bag over his head. He was careful not to hit his left hand. It was only when James had mentioned it that Kevin had felt the pain. It throbbed badly and Kevin had to bit his lip to stop himself from crying.

He gave the car a once over to make sure that he had everything and then he turned and ran towards the airport. When he got inside, the noise hit him like a bus. There were hundreds of people everywhere. Kevin had to push past a lot of people before he caught sight of James. He was almost at the front of the queue and he was looking nervously about himself in search of Kevin.

Kevin ran up behind him just as James reached the check in desk. 'Oh hello, I'm just waiting for my friend. He's…'

'Right here.' Kevin panted as he slumped against James shoulder. James gave a sigh of relief. The woman at the desk grinned at them both then asked for their passports.

It only took a few minutes but James was getting very fidgety and Kevin couldn't do much to help.

'So Mister James Adams and Mister Keffi Starler,' she smirked at Kevin's name. 'I hope that you have a very pleasant trip.' The woman passed them their passports and tickets then she helped them to place their luggage on to the conveyor belt. 'Thank you very much.' She gave them a cheesy grin and they were off.

They went to gate number 52 and waited. The plane had been late so their flight was delayed. James paced up and down as many of the other passengers watched him in suspiciously.

Kevin stood up and pulled James towards him. 'James you need to calm down. We're OK. We will get on the plane and get to Manhattan in no time.'

James sat down next to Kevin and closed his eyes. The minutes were slowly ticking by and James's heart was pounding in his chest. 'Do you think the police know where we are?'

Kevin shrugged. 'I don't know, maybe. Anyway, it doesn't matter if they do. By the time they find out that we are here, well be in Manhattan already.'

When they finally got on the plane, it was three o'clock and James was in a state. Kevin sat in silence, cradling his hand to his chest. James could see that he was in pain but there was nothing that he could do for him.

The plane soon took off and when it did, James began to cry silently to himself. He realised that he might never see his sister or any of his friends ever again. His life was a mess and he had just made it worse.

Five hours later James and Kevin arrived in Manhattan at two thirty. All Kevin wanted to do was sleep. In England it would have been eight o'clock but being in America, it sent them back to two o'clock in the afternoon.

'James can't we just go find somewhere to sleep?' Kevin asked as he jogged clumsily after his friend. James stopped and turned to him. Kevin continued. 'Can't we just go find a bus and go get lost somewhere. If we have no idea where we are then no one else can find us either.'

'No that's stupid. We have to be careful and plan everything out. If we don't, the police will catch us straight away.'

'You're right.' Kevin looked a bit hurt and he fell silent.

'I'm sorry; I'm just so freaked out right now.' James wiped the sweat off of his forehead and took a deep breath. 'The first thing we need to do is get your hand looked at.'

* * *

Sorry i took such a long time to put up Chapter Five, i was doing a lot of writing so that's why i already have Chapter Six as well.

I hope you liked it.

Please R&R. :)


	7. Kyle

Hi! I hope that you like my story so far. Here is chapter Seven. Hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

_Kyle_

James looked out over the balcony. He could see the waves of the sea slowly rocking back and forth. It was dark. The lights outside had been turned on and James could see the light reflecting on the water. The air was warm but there was a small breeze and he could feel the wind blowing through his hair. He peered over the barrier down to the hotel entrance. It was quite late but there were still people coming in and out of the dinning room and going down to the beach for a late night walk. James sighed when he saw a young couple holding hands as they walked along the remaining strip of sand below. It reminded James of Kerry. He wished more than ever that he could be with her. James knew that she would be ashamed of him for being such a coward.

After the two boys had been to the hospital, they had gone to find a hotel to stay the night. The hospital had taken longer than they had planed but eventually they saw the doctor who wrapped Kevin's hand up and gave him some pills for the pain.

They had to look at a few hotels before they found one with a room for them. James and Kevin guessed the hotels were busy because it was September and some people would still be on their holiday. James had wanted to stay at a small hotel, hidden away somewhere so it would make it harder for the police to find them but Kevin was exhausted and it was not fair on him to keep rushing about trying to find another place stay when there was a perfectly good one available.

When they finally got to their room, it was half past seven. They both took a shower and then they went to go find something to eat. While they were eating in the posh dinning room, James felt uncomfortable. He could tell that everyone was watching them. They were completely out of place. They stuck because most of the other guests were a lot older then they were and very smartly dressed. Kevin didn't notice. He was so hungry and tired that he didn't take one look at the people around him. James however wondered if people would think it strange to see two teenage boys staying in a five star hotel. They would find it hard to believe that they would have enough money to afford a room let alone a four course dinner.

When they had finished eating, James quickly exited the dinning room, slowly followed by a sleepy Kevin. They went straight to their room and Kevin got straight into bed. James could not sleep so he decided to go out onto the balcony instead.

He tried to plan what they would do next but his head was spinning so fast he couldn't think. James realised that he need to talk to someone. He needed to just tell someone everything that was going on in his head. Kevin was no use. He was fast asleep and he already knew about all that James was going through. The Person he was desperate to talk to was Kyle.

James pulled out his phone and searched for Kyle's number. He paused just before hitting the call button. James thought about how weird it would be to hear Kyle's voice after so long. He hoped that Kyle would be able to calm his nerves.

The phone rang for a while then James heard a muffled voice at the other end.

'Hello? Who is it?'

'Hi Kyle, it's me.' James said sheepishly.

'James! Oh my God! Are you OK? Zara and Lauren told me everything. Where are you, the police got in contact with Zara and she is going crazy. Lauren and Kerry have told all our friends about what has happened. Are you OK? Seriously James I have been so worried I…'

'Kyle! I'm OK. I just needed to talk.'

'At three o'clock in the morning? How does that make any sense?' Kyle sounded more awake now and it felt good for James to hear a friendly voice.

'Oh sorry, I forgot about the time change. It's only nine at night here.'

'Time change, what? Where are you?' Kyle was getting a bit panicky and he was talking faster and faster at each question.

'I'm in Manhattan. I'm with a friend. I just called because I need to talk to an old friend. Someone I can trust.'

'Don't you trust your friend who's with you?'

'Oh no I do, it's just…' James glanced back indoors to take a look at Kevin then he lowered his voice and said, 'he's asleep. Anyway I wanted to talk to you but you have to promise me something.'

'OK, what?'

'You won't tell the police that I called you or tell them where I am? Please Kyle if they know I'll be sent to jail!'

'Not if you didn't kill that guy, you won't. James you are completely innocent. Aren't you?' Kyle sounded a bit concerned. James did not answer but stared out to sea. 'James, you are innocent, aren't you?'

'Yes, well no, not exactly. You see, I didn't kill anyone but I've done something else.'

'OK, how bad is it? Did you like beat someone up or do something silly like that or…'

'The guy who was killed was called Richard Mungo, and I worked with him.'

'What do you mean, worked with him? On what?' Kyle asked quickly.

James didn't want to have to tell his best friend what he had done but he needed to know. 'Car jacking. We were working together, Richard, me and my friend k…' James decided that it would be best if he didn't mention Kevin at all anymore.

'Does Lauren know about this?'

'No. I couldn't bring myself to tell her. Can you do it for me? Don't tell anyone else and make sure that Lauren doesn't either. You are the only person apart from the cops that know.'

'James I don't…' Kyle began but James cut him off.

'Kyle, please. You have to promise not to tell anyone. For me, please.' James begged.

Kyle hesitated before answering. 'I don't know. It's just, if I don't tell then you could get into danger and if I do tell Zara or anyone else where you are then…'

'Then I'll be sent to prison. Kyle I have no choice. I have to keep a low profile and you need to keep quiet. Can you do that?' James waited. He was worried that Kyle would tell someone that he had called and then the police would find him. 'Kyle?'

'OK fine. I won't tell but you have to keep calling me so Lauren and I know that you're OK.'

'Thank you so much Kyle. God, you don't know what a mess I've made of all this. I knew that I could count on you.' James sighed with relief. He felt bad for not trusting Kyle at first but now he knew that Kyle was on his side, James felt a lot calmer.

'OK James, well look, I have to go now but call me soon OK?'

'Yeah, sure. Oh and thanks again Kyle, you're the best.'

'Hmmm, thanks. OK bye.'

'Bye.' James shut his mobile and took a deep breath. He was glad to have a friend like Kyle. James knew that he could trust him and that Kyle would all ways be there for him.

* * *

The next morning James woke with a heavy head. His face was covered by a pillow which he was cuddling. He sat up and yawned loudly. Kevin's bed was empty. James got out of bed and went to the bathroom expecting to find Kevin. The room was empty however and James began to panic.

He rushed to the wardrobe and pulled on some clothes and was about to leave the room to find Kevin when the door opened.

Kevin walked in and shut the door behind him. James stood gaping at him.

'What?' Kevin asked.

'Where the hell have you been? I was so worried!' James was flaying his arms around frantically.

'I just went on a walk. What's wrong with that?' Kevin sat down on his bed and examined his bandaged hand.

'Kevin you can't just leave without telling me. What would happen if the police had come and taken you away or something?'

Kevin burst into laughter. 'James calm down! Nothing happened. I'm fine.'

James fell silent then sat next to Kevin. 'Sorry, I guess that my head is still a little crazy. I couldn't sleep very well because I was worrying about everything. How do you stay so cool and relaxed?'

'I don't really know. I guess I just don't think that it is worth getting worked up about. If we stay calm and plan it all out carefully, then we have nothing to worry about.'

* * *

James watched the hundreds of busy people rushing passed him. The street was packed and it was almost impossible to walk without being pushed over by a large huddle of people all trying to cross the road at the same time. James however was stood away from the huge crowds of people and was standing outside a row of shops. He was waiting for Kevin.

They had stayed at the hotel for a few days then James had decided that it would probably be a good idea to move further into the city to make it harder to be found by the police. While Kevin stayed at the hotel room, James took a taxi to the city centre to find a smaller unknown place to stay.

Hunting for a place to stay in a city that you have never been to before proved to much harder than James had expected. He tried many old, abandoned alleys I the hope of finding an unused flat but he had been out of luck. Even though they had enough money to buy a house or any flat or apartment that they wanted, the two boys didn't want to have to sign any papers of any kind because that meant that they could be traced much more easily. The best place James could find was a small, quite new apartment up for rent. James made a few calls to the agents of the landlord of the apartment who said that James and Kevin could move into the apartment within two weeks. James had hoped that it would be sooner than that but he was not surprised.

It was only a week later when the agent called to tell James that the apartment was ready and that they could move in the next day. James and Kevin had had to go and sing some papers but they used new fake names and their new ids.

James had been waiting for Kevin for a while and he began to get impatient. All Kevin had to do was pack up his things and get a taxi to the city centre. What was taking him so long?

Just as James was thinking this, Kevin was quickly walking along the path around the corner, on his way to James. It had taken him a while to pack everything up and then he had to wait for twenty minutes to get a taxi. He sighed as he heaved his bag onto his shoulder.

James glanced at his watch and grumbled. He was in a bad mood because Kevin was late but he forgot all about his friend when he caught a glimpse of a woman. At first he didn't recognise her but then when he saw who was with her, he knew exactly who it was.

Zara scanned the street and frowned. She couldn't see James at all. Lauren and Bruce were also looking around nervously for him. They knew that James would be there but there were so many people they couldn't be sure who was James and who wasn't.

Lauren stood on her tiptoes and peered above people's heads. 'I see him!' she exclaimed. 'He's over there.' She pointed towards a row of shops on the opposite side of the street.

They ran over the road towards him but when James realised that they were there and were coming towards him, he turned and ran.

'Come on! Let's go!' Bruce shouted to the others. 'He went this way!'

Zara and Lauren followed Bruce passed the traffic lights and along the road until they came to the corner. Bruce looked down it but James was no where.

'Look!' Lauren said. 'It's that guy that James was living with when Kerry and I went to see him. He must know where James is!'

When James had seen his Lauren, Bruce and Zara, he had no choice but to run. He had no idea how they knew where he was but he needed to get away. If they caught him, Zara would have to hand him over to the police.

As he ran around the corner he could see Kevin a little way up. James crashed into him then pushed past.

'James! What the hell! Where are you going?' James didn't reply. He just kept running then turned the corner at the other end of the street and disappeared. Kevin turned around to pick up his bag which he had dropped when James crashed into him, when he came face to face with Lauren.

* * *

Please R&R


	8. The Battle begins

Sorry for the wait. I have been a bit lazy! :) I hope that you like this chapter. Thanks for all of the reviews for my story. You are all so nice!

* * *

Chapter Eight

_The Battle begins_

'Where the hell is he?'

Kevin was so shocked to see Lauren he nearly fell over. Lauren had grabbed his collar and pulled him towards her.

'Where did James go? Tell me!' she shouted as she shook Kevin violently.

'I…d…don't know! Now let me go!' Kevin could hardly speak from being thrust back and forth. He pulled Lauren's hands off of his shirt and pushed her away. He turned to run but then a boy about his own age stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder.

'Not so fast.' he said as he spun Kevin around to face him. 'We know that you know where James is so just tell us.' Kevin didn't answer. He stared into the boys eyes and he was reminded of Bartholomew. Kevin could see the anger in his eyes and it scared him. The last time Kevin had see Bartholomew and his friends was when he had met James at the casino.

Kevin had never been friends with Bartholomew or Rick or the others; he just hung around with them because he had no other friends and nothing else to do. He hadn't wanted to go home because of his mum and he didn't want to be alone. Kevin had been part of Bartholomew's fan club, the group of stupid boys who thought that it was cool to beat up smaller kids and steal and fight. Not that they were any good but they liked to think that they were. Kevin had never liked hanging round with them but it was the only thing he could do to keep his mind off of the things that were going on at home.

Bartholomew had always picked on Kevin the most out of the group. He always said that Kevin was a wimp and suck up. He made Kevin feel small and unimportant but it was James who made Kevin realise what a good person he was. James had helped Kevin a lot over the past eight months and Kevin was glad that they had met, even though it had caused a lot of problems for them both.

'Don't keep me waiting! Where is he?' The boy's face was right up against Kevin's and Kevin could feel his breath against his skin. He shivered. They boy's eyes were just like Bartholomew's, angry, scornful and intimidating.

'Bruce, we need to find him.' said Zara quickly. Lauren agreed.

Bruce turned to look at Lauren and Zara then nodded. This gave Kevin the perfect opportunity. He raised his right hand and ploughed his fist into Bruce's jaw. Kevin however, had automatically used his right hand which he had broken the week before and he howled with pain as it came into contact with Bruce's face. Bruce was surprised but he soon recovered and within moments he had Kevin face down on the floor.

'Just tell us where James is and we'll let you go.' Kevin remained silent. His broken hand was wedged under his stomach and he trying hard not to let Bruce see how much pain he was in.

Zara stepped forward. 'Look Bruce, we need to find James. Lauren and I will go look for him.' She bent down to Bruce and said quietly, 'Don't hurt him too much. He might not even know where James is.'

Bruce smiled then turned Kevin's face so he could see him. 'Don't worry. I won't hurt him. Too much.' He laughed loudly to himself as Lauren and Zara ran off in the direction James had gone in.

* * *

James's chest pounded and his throat was dry. His pace was fast and it quickened at every road he sped down. As he ran he could hear the sound of his feet hitting the pavement. He thought back to the many punishment laps he had had to do whilst at Cherub. He had never enjoyed running laps but running laps as a punishment at school was a lot easier than running for your life.

James only stopped running when he got to their new flat. He fumbled around in his pockets for the keys then quickly unlocked the door.

The apartment was very clean and new. It smelt strongly of plastic and paint. It had only been refurbished a week ago and it was quite modern. The walls were all white or cream and the kitchen counters had glass tops. James suddenly forgot his fear and began to relax. It was when he sat down of the sofa and looked at his reflection in the TV that he remembered Kevin.

* * *

'Are you still sure you don't know where James is?' Bruce asked cockily. He was sitting on Kevin's back, stopping Kevin from moving. 'Or do you just want me to sit on you until we find James? It's your choice; you could just tell me where he is.'

Kevin laughed. 'Is this the best you can do? You'll just sit on me?'

Bruce turned pink then hauled Kevin up off the ground. 'You want to fight do you? Well I don't think that you'd want to do that. I don't know who the hell you are but what I do know is that I can snap you in two in a second. So' he paused and placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder 'you still want to fight.'

Kevin smiled sarcastically at him and turned to leave. When Kevin felt Bruce's hand slip off of his shoulder he quickly spun around and aimed a clumsy left handed punch at Bruce. Bruce was expecting this and had ducked down so when Kevin through his punch he toppled forward and lost his balance. Bruce knelt up and shoved Kevin in the stomach. Kevin grunted then fell back hitting his head against the brick wall of the ally. He flopped down to the ground in silence.

Kevin closed his eyes and tried to breathe slowly but he felt sick. His head pounded and his vision had gone fuzzy. He squinted his eyes and he could just make out Bruce standing only a few feet away. He came closer and crouched down to him.

'Now, how was that for you? I hope it didn't hurt too much.' Kevin looked up at him with bleary eyes and tried to speak but the only thing that came out was a low mumble. 'What was that? You want round two do you? OK, here you go!' And with that, Bruce smacked his fist into Kevin's right temple.

* * *

As James got closer he could see Bruce leaning over Kevin's still body. James ran faster until he got to Kevin's side.

'Kevin! Kevin wake up! Kevin?' James checked Kevin's pulse then put his arm around his back to try and lift him up.

'James? Where the hell have you been? We've been trying to find you for ages.' Bruce pulled on James's arm until he looked at him.

'What do you want Bruce?'

'We want to help you.' Bruce sounded hurt but James didn't care. Kevin was unconscious and was James's main priority. Bruce would have to wait. He lay Kevin down flat on the ground then he unzipped his own jacket, lifted Kevin's head and slipped the jacket under. When he took his hand away, it was covered in blood.

'Oh my God!' Bruce gasped.

'What the hell.' James turned to Bruce. 'What did you do to him?'

'Nothing! I just punched him and he hit his head as he fell.' James looked away appalled. 'James? Come on man, I was only trying to help!'

'Help! Is this what you call helping me? Kevin could die you idiot. Why the hell did you hit him in the first place?'

'Lauren said that you had been staying with him and that he must know where you were.' Bruce was kneeling down by Kevin's head. He turned pale as he looked at Kevin's motionless face. 'Do you think he could, you know…die?'

'I don't know.' James said quickly. He pulled out his phone and call for an ambulance. 'Hello?...yes it's my friend he…yes he has a pulse but his head is bleeding badly…OK yeah…OK…be quick!' He shut his phone then examined his jacket. It was soaked with blood. If the ambulance didn't come soon, Kevin could die.

* * *

It took the ambulance only ten minutes to get to the ally which was surprising considering the amount of traffic on the roads. When they got to Kevin the paramedics checked his pulse and checked to see if he was breathing. Then they lifted him gently onto a stretcher.

One of the paramedic walked over to James and Bruce. Behind her was a police officer.

'Will he be OK?' James asked.

'He should be.' she said. 'He took a nasty blow to the head but it doesn't look to serious. Nothing broken I don't think but we can't be sure until we get to the hospital.'

James gave a sigh of relief then turned to glare at Bruce who swallowed hard and looked away.

The paramedic turned to the police woman who strolled over to them. 'This is Officer Lindley,' she said.

The officer smiled to the paramedic. 'How did this happen? Did you see what happened to him? How he hit his head, anything?'

James took a deep breath and shrugged. 'I just…well I…'

'I saw what happened.' Bruce said from behind James. James glanced at him with surprise. 'I was um walking passed Kevin, when this um…guy, he…um well he…'

'He came round the corner and tried to mug Kevin,' James butted in quickly. 'but Kevin tried to push him away. Then the guy shoved him against the wall.' Bruce nodded but the officer looked unconvinced.

'So you were both walking passed…?'

'Oh no.' James replied quickly, 'Bruce was already here and I was looking for Kevin when I saw the guy shove him into the wall.'

'Right. OK.' She turned to leave then remembered something. 'Did either of you see what this guy looked like?'

'No.' they answered simultaneously.

The officer raised an eyebrow. 'Really?' she said slowly.

'Yeah, he was um wearing a mask.'

'OK fine. That's it for now.' She walked back to the police car and drove off. The paramedic opened the driver's door of the ambulance and climbed in.

'Wait!' James ran up to her. 'Can't I go with Kevin?'

'Are you a member of family?'

'No but…'

'Then you can't come. Sorry.' She shut the door and drove away.

'Bitch.'

* * *

When James and Bruce got to the hospital they found that Kevin had already been whisked away into a room and was being examined by doctors. The woman at the desk had told the boys to sit in the waiting area until the doctor came.

The wait was long. Bruce sat I silence while James muttered to himself. He couldn't sit still and his palms sweating. He wondered if Kevin would be OK. He had a horrible image of Kevin's bloody head in his mind. If he died James would never be able to forgive himself.

James was half way up the corridor when the door of Kevin's room suddenly swung open and James spun around. The doctor asked Bruce a question then Bruce pointed to James, who ran over to them.

'Hello. Are you Kevin's brother?'

'Oh no I'm not. I'm just a friend.' James replied.

'Oh OK. Does he have any family here?'

'No, Kevin doesn't have a family. His mum died about six months ago and he hasn't seen his dad in years. I'm the only person he has.' Kevin was also the only person that James had. They had no one else they could trust or rely on except each other.

'Oh that's a shame. Are you sure that there isn't anyone else, an aunt or uncle?'

'No there's no one. Is he going to be OK? Can I go see him, is he awake, how is he?' James babbled.

'Yes he is fine. Nothing broken except for his hand witch was already broken. He just had to have some stitches in the back of his head but apart from that, he seems fine. You can go see him but not for long. He needs to rest.'

James thanked the doctor then slipped into Kevin's room. It was warm and very white. Kevin lay silently in his bed, asleep. He had a bandage all around his head and his hand had been wrapped up again too. He looked very peaceful.

James sat down on the chair by the bed and waited. He didn't want to wake Kevin up but he also didn't want to leave him alone just in case he did wake when he was gone. He sighed and buried his head in his hands. This was not what he had planed. Kevin was never meant to get hurt.

Kevin was still asleep twenty minutes later when a nurse came in and told James that it was time for him to leave. James slowly got up and headed for the door. As he took hold of the door handle he paused and looked back at Kevin. James felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Sighing he left the room.

When James closed the door he saw that Bruce was still waiting outside the room but he was not alone. Zara and Lauren were sitting on either side of him and they both stood up when they saw James.

James turned to leave but Zara grabbed his arm and pulled him back. She plonked him down onto the chair next to Bruce the knelt down in front of him.

'James. We are trying to help you but we can't if you don't let us.' She took James's hand and squeezed it tightly. 'Now I want you to listen to me. No of us believe that you killed those people and we are trying to convince the police that you are innocent but you running away didn't help. You are going to catch a flight home with us tonight and we will get this all sorted out.'

James nodded. The four of them got up to leave then James remembered Kevin. 'I can't go.'

'What? Why?' Zara asked confused.

'Kevin. I can't leave him here. It is my fault that he got hurt in the first place so I can't just go without him.'

Zara looked into James's eyes. They were wide with fear and James looked as if he were about to cry. Zara pulled him close into a hug, rocking him back and forth. 'OK. Don't worry James. We won't leave without Kevin.'

After Zara let go of James she went to find the doctor. She asked him how long Kevin would be in the hospital for. She was relieved when he told her that he could go home in the morning. Zara thanked him then went to find the others.

She found them still standing outside Kevin's room. Lauren had her arms around James's waist and he was stroking her long blond hair.

'It's all OK. Kevin can leave tomorrow morning but for now we just need to find somewhere to stay the night.' They all agreed and made their way down to the hospital exit.

On the way down in the lift James asked something which had been bugging him ever since he got to the hospital.

'How did you guy's know that I was in Manhattan?' he asked.

Zara looked away and faked a cough. 'Um…well we…'

'Kyle told us.' Bruce said blankly. 'He said that you called him and that you were here.'

James felt betrayed. His best friend had made a promise to him and then had broken it the first moment he could.

Lauren could see that he was angry and said, 'He only told us because he was scared for you. You would have done the same thing if it were Kyle that was in trouble.'

James sighed and nodded. He couldn't blame Kyle for trying to help. They made their way quickly to the taxi that Zara had just called for them. James got in first and sat by the window with Lauren in the middle and Bruce on her other side. Zara slid into the front seat next to the driver and she asked him if he knew of anywhere that they could stay the night.

After a quick discussion between Zara and the driver, the taxi started up and rolled slowly out of the hospital car park. As the car was about to turn a corner, James looked back at the large building and felt a tear come to his eye. Keeping his face to the window, James allowed the hot tears to run down his face. Even though he had his sister and friend with him he felt more alone that he had in the last six months.

* * *

He felt as if the walls were closing in on him. The light was getting lower and lower. Soon he would be plunged into complete darkness. Unable to see, unable to move, feel, live. His heart was thumping painfully. Sweat trickled down his face and along his bare chest. He could feel strong fingers running through his hair and across this forehead and his jaw. The fingers wrapped their way around his neck and squeezed. He gasped for a breath but the grip tightened. He tried to pull the hand away but his own hand could not reach to his throat. Clawing at the arm he grunted and squirmed. He couldn't see anything but he heard a distant laugh. It was a mocking laugh that made him cringe. The fingers around his neck tightened again until he could not longer breath. Confusion flooded his head as a flash of light appeared and a misty face came into view. It was still to dark to see who it was but he could tell that the face was smiling slyly at him. Squinting his eyes, he could just make out the person in front of him. The man leaned closer and opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out.

Suddenly he felt hands on his shoulders and the grip around his throat loosen. The face slowly disappeared and was replaced with bright white light.

'James! Wake up!'

James opened his eyes and shot up. His eyes met with Zara's which were full of concern. He was covered in sweat and his head hurt. He put a hand to his throat and gasped.

'Don't worry James. You just had a bad dream. You have been tossing and turning for a while so Bruce called me through.' Zara placed her hand on James's forehead but James backed away. The dream had been so real and he still couldn't breathe properly. 'I woke you up when you stopped breathing. You made Lauren very worried.' she said with a sigh.

'Is she OK?' James asked quickly. His question was answered when Lauren entered the room. She sat down on the edge of his bed and hugged him close.

'Don't ever do that again.' she said, 'You nearly scared me to death!'

James laughed and reached for the towel in Lauren's hand. He wiped his face with it and got out of bed. Bruce was standing at the end of the bed with a sorry look on his face.

Zara suggested that they all go down to get some breakfast before heading to the hospital for Kevin. Zara and Lauren left James and Bruce to get dressed while they went down to the dinning room. James pulled on his clothes slowly, trying to control his breathing. The dream had really shaken him up and seeing Ron's sly smile had made him realise what he was in for. Battling for his life against Ron Onions was going to harder that he had thought.

He was about to leave the room when Bruce took his arm. James looked at him and could see the regret and sorrow in his eyes.

'I really am sorry James. I'll do anything just please forgive me.' James smiled at him the pulled him into a quick hug. He patted Bruce on the back and headed for the door again. Locking the door behind him he turned and followed Bruce down the stairs. The next few weeks were going to be hard but he had to try. He suddenly laughed to himself. Kevin was right; being a criminal was not so fun after all.

* * *

I hope you liked it. Now i just need to write the next chapter but don't worry, i will put it up soon.

Please R&R if you like it and want me to continue. :)


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